Arden-Carmichael News - January 27, 2017

January 27, 2017 | www.valcomnews.com

Arden-Carmichael News — BRINGING YOU COMMUNITY NEWS FOR 26 YEARS —

CARMICHAEL puppet-maker brings shows to Swanston Park Community Center

See page 8

Door-to-Door ..............................................5

What’s Happening ................................. 11

River City Chorale to perform Disney favorites

Home Improvement Guide .......................12

See page 7

Crossword ...............................................6 Senior Services ......................................... 11

Local author to discuss romance thriller at ArdenDimick Library book talk See page 10

A rden-C armichael Ne w s w w w. va l c o m n e w s . c o m

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Vol. XXVI • No. 2

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King of Jazz Restored by NBC/Universal, premiering at Tower Theatre for benefit gala

By Matías Bombal

In 1930, an unprecedented mixture of art and technology melded elements of music, dance, theatre, design and visual artistry into a great melting pot of jazz on film. The movies had only been “talking” for three years. Sound for movies was new, so was an early Technicolor company process of taking movie camera images through red and green filters and reproducing almost all colors of the spectrum for color on screen.

Added to this canvas of color and sound; music of all forms offered by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, comedy blackouts from famous vaudeville stars, dancers in impressive Broadway type choreographies staged by director John Murray Anderson and sets lavish in artmoderne design which would win an Academy Award. Universal Pictures released “King of Jazz” at FOX’s 1,652 seat Criterion Theatre in Los Angeles on April 19, 1930.

The film vanished somewhat into obscurity, after a second, shorter version re-release in 1933. In 1975 a television screening by the BBC re-awakened interest in the movie, followed by versions for U.S. TV Cable channels in March of 1984. This was a truncated version, far from the splendor and beauty of the original release. MCA then released it to home video in 1983 and 1995 on VHS, but a video engineer mixed blue into the picture, destroying the two-color process’s original beauty and design and red-green color balance. It has not since been in any other format to be seen in any version.

After years of lobbying from film historians such as David Stenn, Ron Hutchinson and others, in December of 2013, the film was officially entered into The Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, triggering Universal Pictures to begin a serious and monumentally expensive restoration of more than three years. At the same time, a remarkable and scholarly 303 page coffee table book about the movie’s colorful history and restoration, “King of Jazz: Paul Whiteman’s Technicolor Review” was written and released by James Layton and David Pierce. (www.kingofjazzbook.com) The 2016 restoration, by NBC/Universal, of the 1930 two-color Technicolor Universal Super-Production “King of Jazz” has created a sensation everywhere it is shown. Beginning a few months ago with the Museum of Modern Art New York, then The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, this early musical movie has begun to move across the United States and Europe in select road-show events and special film festivals, like Los Angeles’ Cinecon and screenings as far away as Australia.

It will be shown in Sacramento for its Northern California Premiere for one show-

ing only, to benefit The Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, February 22nd at 7pm at the Tower Theatre at 16th and Broadway, nestled at the south end of downtown.

The premiere will bring notable persons from Hollywood and New York to Sacramento, including historians, Universal Studios executives and musicians as this has not screened in the San Francisco/bay area as the state capital was chosen for the honor.

Original ad campaign from 1930 reproduced for Sacramento Tower Theatre premiere.

Why is it a big deal? Primarily because it captures exactly the best in entertainment in 1930 in a time capsule, now clearer, sharper and brighter than when it was new. The newly restored two-color Technicolor allows you to witness, with a palpable vibrancy, an era mostly seen today in black and white, if at all. Then there’s the music; along with some hot jazz renditions of tunes like “Happy Feet” written by Milton Ager with lyric by Jack Yellen, this film has the first ever performance on film of “ The Rhapsody in Blue” by the man and his orchestra that commissioned George Gershwin to write it for them, Paul Whiteman.

Paul Whiteman was, without a doubt, the single most respected influence in the mainstream culture of emerging popular music and jazz in the United States in the 1920’s and early 1930’s. His acoustical Victor 78 rpm record of “Whispering” recorded on August 23, 1920 was a number one hit in the USA for 11 weeks, stayed 20 weeks in the charts and would sell over two-million copies. He made a hit record and created one of the nation’s first major dance crazes with his May 7, 1925 Victor recording of (the)”Charleston”.

He represented the zenith of jazz to the public of that era. He also was a brilliant and willing master of publicity and marketing.

During his orchestra’s 1919 engagement at the Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles, popular with the movie crowd, he first began to be informally known as “The King of Jazz”. By 1930, Universal’s “King of Jazz” film could be shown to many thousands more than could see him and his orchestra in live performance in just one theatre or ballroom at a time and it showcases his very likeable personality and big-hearted presence.

Whiteman’s orchestra personnel seen in this film and in color performing were and remain the who’s who of jazz greats of that era. They include: violinist Joe Venuti, guitarist Eddie Lang, saxophonist Roy Maier, violinist and song writer Matty Malneck, trombonist and violinist Wilbur Hall, trumpet player Harry “Goldie” Goldfield, clarinet See Jazz, page 3 Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Jazz:

Continued from page 2

and saxophone player Chester Hazlett, trombone player, vocalist and songwriter Jack Fulton, banjo player Mike Pingitore, pianist and songwriter Roy Bargy, violinist Kurt Dieterle and the very first movie appearance of Bing Crosby, then part of Whitman’s singing trio, “The Rhythm Boys”. To see and hear 27 year-old Bing Crosby at the height of his voice, singing with the trio is something you’ll long remember.

Actors seen in the film’s comedy sketches and other musical numbers include John Boles, Slim Summerville, Laura La Plante and a very young Walter Brennan.

Jazz plays a great role in the movie, but it is also a product of its time when revue style shows on Broadway were popular, the kind of show that is a series of variety comedy acts, musical specialties and musical productions. Very much like one may have experienced in New York in 1930 at any of the deluxe musical theatres of that era, yet much more spectacular with all of the space of a movie studio in which to produce giant musical fantasy numbers and in the early twocolor Technicolor process that predates “ The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind”. The Russell Markert girls that appear as chorines in this film would, just two years later, become the very first Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in 1932.

Rare original release trailer for “King of Jazz” from 1930, from a 16mm dupe film print (a copy not as sharp as the original 35mm) in the collection of Matias Bombal. This is the “before” restoration look of this spectacular movie musical in the early two-color Technicolor process. Bing Crosby comparison courtesy of: TWOSTRIPTECHNICOLOR/Tumblr Film scanning to 2K digital from Matias Bombal’s 16mm dupe print of this trailer by Bacos Film, http://www.bacosfilm. com I had the privilege to have seen this new restoration in Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theatre as part of the 52nd Cinecon Film Festival a few months ago. Like many Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

film buffs my age, I first had seen the film in one of the VHS tape versions, in the mid 1980’s, which even then looked dismal, like a beat up 16mm film print poorly transferred. In spite of the mire and murk of the image, I was fascinated by what I saw and heard. Here was a slice of the best in entertainment preserved in a time capsule.

I’d never seen anything like it. It fueled a passion to see it properly restored, marking 33 years of anticipation and hope to see it as it had been seen when new. Quite sincerely, to have seen it, as if for the first time after all those years was highly emotional, for there were tears of joy in my eyes as I watched its sensational beauty of picture and sound.

As I sat there next to my pal and marvelous pianist/historian Frederick Hodges in the Egyptian Theatre, things I never thought could be captured were right there before my eyes. In the “My Bridal Veil” number, a fly buzzes around actress Jeanette Loff and lands on her shoulder in a medium shot. This restoration is so good I can see a fly on the set! The amount of detail in that sequence, sourced from the original camera negative, made that musical number which had been my least favorite in the murky video version a spectacular revelation in beauty and subtle color design. I thought to myself; OK, now I get it!

In Bing Crosby’s first sequence with “The Rhythm Boys”, they sing “So the Blue

The musicians of Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra, Paul with baton, in the "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence. Photo: NBC/Universal

Birds and the Black Birds Got Together” (Music by Rhythm Boy and pianist Harry Barris with words by Billy Moll). I was floored at the detail never present before on video; the sense of the brightly colored fabric pattern on the big arm chair behind Bing. The metallic variegated metal leaf on the trim of the table behind Bing and next to the chair. Fellow Rhythm Boy Al Rinker’s shirt stud revealed a distinct subtle pattern never before known to be visible. It was just like standing there on the set while it was being filmed. I could go on and on with minute details of stunning beauty, but you must really see this for yourself. The “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Whiteman orchestra and Roy Bargy as the soloist is spectacular and alive.

Exclusive to the Sacramento premiere event at the Tower Theatre February 22nd are special guests from Hollywood, some who worked on the restoration. They will address the audience with stories

of their efforts. Band leader Don Neely of the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra of San Francisco will chat with the crowd about Whiteman’s musical contributions.

See Benefit, page 4

www.valcomnews.com • January 27, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Pianist and music historian Adam G. Swanson will play the house in inside the theatre auditorium for the "King of Jazz" premiere with Whiteman classics.

Photo: Carl Geers.

Benefit:

Continued from page 3

Members of the family of Jack Fulton, one of Whiteman’s trombone players who appears in the movie will be present talking briefly to the premiere audience about Fulton’s work with Whiteman at that time.

As this benefits the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, you may bet there will be live music, too. Outside, in front of the theatre, the young men and women of the “Crescent Katz”, well known for monthly presentations of traditional jazz in places like “The Shady Lady” will perform for the arriving guests and passers-by beginning from 6:10pm to 6:50pm.

The “Crescent Katz” are Patrick Skiffington, Greg Sabin, Justin Au, Brandon Au and Priscilla Ornelas Inside the Tower’s largest auditorium of three, No. 1, more live music may be savored from the time the auditorium opens. The precise time for seating will be determined by the ending time of the movie showing there just before the 7pm time slot. Providing selections made popular by Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra inside the theatre will be the youthful, yet highly acclaimed Adam G. Swanson, noted pianist and authority of the popular song from ragtime to country-western swing. Mr. Swanson has also appeared at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center and is featured summers at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado.

The Sacramento Traditional Jazz Foundation, an

Arden-Carmichael News • January 27, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

educational foundation separate from the STJS which supports young musicians as they learn to master traditional jazz, will be purchasing premiere tickets to gift to young musicians in their programs enabling them to see, for free, the very music they study in its original context, enriching their musical education with this very special event on screen.

This is your great opportunity to see and hear how this music was heard and performed in its original context in splendid color and remarkable sharpness.

This gala Northern California Premiere of the restored “King of Jazz”, will be shown only once, at 7 p.m., Wednesday night, Feb. 22 at the Tower Theatre, Broadway at 16th Street. Free adjacent parking. Tickets are only available in advance at www.sacjazz.org for $25 per person. No tickets will be sold at the door.

There will be one day where you may obtain tickets in person however, in order to avoid the online service charge. At the February meeting of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society held at the Elks Lodge #6 at Riverside and Florin Road in the Greenhaven neighborhood of Sacramento, February 12th, tickets will be available from 11-4pm, if online tickets have not sold out by that date. Only 250 seats remain available at the time of this writing. What a splendid occasion to dress up and have a gala night in support of The Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, or as the film’s original tag line proclaimed, “Once in a lifetime a picture like this!”

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with Pat Lynch

Keeping Warm We had ways of keeping warm. We girls wore long, flannel nightgowns and raced to stand over the floor heaters on chill mornings. The warm air rushed up, nightgowns billowed out and we looked like tiny-headed creatures with ballooning torsos. Standing over the heater was so delicious. If you were the first one there the warmth blew gently up and enveloped you. It put you in a state of serenity. But you had to share. You always had to move over, make room, take your turn, and make sure everyone, especially the little ones, got a chance to warm up.

Our little ones were our baby brothers who wrapped their cowboy blankets around their shoulders for billowing and swayed over the heater until the blankets puffed and cold was gone. Then they toddled to the sofa, and waited and watched in sleepy contentment. Sometimes one or another of the older ones would monopolize the heater.

Then came the uproar: “Mom, Sheila’s hogging the furnace.

Pat’s hogging the furnace.”

Our mother always made the miscreant surrender her position, and always said, “You kids don’t know what cold is.”

She was from St. Louis where it snowed and the lakes froze and the temperature dove to freezing. She said her father, our grandfather,

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would get up at 5:30 a.m. and put logs in the wood-burning stove in the kitchen, and that’s where everyone would huddle, drinking coco. It seemed wondrous to me, drinking hot chocolate and gazing out the window at fresh snow; it seemed idyllic, like a Christmas card. Our mother rolled her eyes. “You kids don’t know how lucky you are.”

One morning our father, Sacramento born and bred, said it was cold as ice and if he didn’t have hot coffee his frozen eyes might drop from their sockets. “I can’t drive to work with my eyes rolling on the floor,” he said. Our little brothers, side by side in their cowboy blankets, looked up in fascination. Our mother gave him his coffee and said again, “None of you know what cold is.”

Well, she was right. One early April, while we ran around in light sweaters, glorying in the spring, our parents reserved a large cabin in Tahoe. They got some kind of an off-season “deal” that wouldn’t be available later. It meant we would have to miss a day of school, but it was an opportunity that “just didn’t pop up that often,” our mother said. My ecstasy was utterly boundless: we were going to the mountains and not going to school. How does life get better?

We headed up in the station wagon, climbing into country made green and beautiful by rain. We thrilled to see signs that warned of deer crossings

and Kathleen said three Hail Mary’s, fervent supplications to send a deer our way. Moira spotted a plop of leftover snow and we let out rapturous shrieks. It was our first sight of real snow. Other snow sightings followed, chatter escalated. We finally turned up a narrow, bumpy road and reached the cabin, ‘nestled’, as promised, in the deep, high woods. “What the hell?” our father said. We gaped. The cabin had no walls. It had an arched roof, canvass front and back, a brown plywood decklike floor and front door, but nothing but air on either side.

We kids jumped out of the car into a new kind of cold— exhilarating, biting. Pinecone cold. The mountains smelled so good. But we all had to pee.

We ran into the cabin with no walls. There was a wood stove but no bathroom. Canvass flaps distended from the roof to mark off “rooms” but there was no toilet anywhere. By now our parents had gotten out and our father spied an outhouse, half hidden, and a long walk away. This meant the boys got to go pee in the forest with Dad while the girls had to form a line at the outhouse. As usual the littlest went first, but Mom told me to go in with Sheila because Sheila might not be able to reach the “contraption.”

I took Sheila’s hand and started toward the outhouse. “You know who wakes up in the mountains in spring?” Kathleen said. “Bears. They wake up from hunger.” I paused. Don’t think. With faked nonchalance, took Sheila’s hand, and went in. It was dark and vile, but no bear. The toilet seat was encrusted with ice.

Our father took the boys in the car and drove off to find the cabin people who had left us with no walls. Our mother,

Kathleen and I pounded the toilet-seat with rocks, the ice broke off in chunks. The sun that had lit and mildly warmed the crackling forest floor, began to fade, and now the even deeper cold arrived. It felt like it came from space, it stilled the very air. Or mother unpacked our pedal-pushers and we put them on over our shorts. We put on our thin sweaters and extra blouses. Mom told Kathleen and me to gather wood and tinder. Tinder? She said it was the scratchy stuff around the trees.

Kathleen and I stayed together while we gathered, no more talk of bears. It was twilight already. Kathleen wore a dark blue sweater. Bits of dimming light fell on it as she stooped. Something else wafted down. At first it was hard to believe. “Stand up,” I whispered. She rose, held out her blue arms. The snow fell gently, fluttering like it does in stories. “Your hair,” she whispered. I put my hand to my head. It was everywhere, beautiful everywhere. We ran back to the tent-cabin and dumped our gatherings by the stove.

Sheila and Moira were sitting up, both of them in one sleeping bag. “Snow,” Moira said.

“It’s snowing.”

Our mother had gotten the stove on, a dull red glow shone behind its small window. “We’ll need more wood,” she said, almost to herself.

Then she made a wide, forced smile and said, “Well well.

Our first snowfall together. Isn’t this something?” But now a wind had come up and Kathleen and I got in a sleeping bag. The wind forced us to face away from the beauty.

Our father came back with the boys and said the cabin walls rolled down, but you had to first unsnap a gismo and a

thingamabob. It took him a while to do this and while he worked he cussed the weatherman and the cabin people. Where was Mom to say, “Mike, your language?” The canvass suddenly rolled down and now we had another wall.

Then a thump from behind and our Mother appeared with an armful of logs. Now all kids were in sleeping bags around the stove. Dad got the last wall down, but we still saw snow because it bunched in through cracks and puddled down the tent sides. The wind got louder. “It’s a damn blizzard,” our father said, but Mom said this was no blizzard; it was a storm with flurries. Our parents went to the door and talked in urgent whispers. I scrunched closer to Kathleen. She said even her butt felt cold. Moira said to Danny, “Kathleen’s bottom froze.”

I don’t know how they did it, but our parents packed everything back in the station wagon. Kathleen and I helped the kids out of their sleeping bags and ran with them to the car. At the end our tennis shoes were soaked and we had to ride barefoot, our feet immersed in sleeping bags.

Mom turned off the cabin stove and climbed into her front seat. Dad started the heater and drove slowly, slowly, down the skinny road. In half an hour we were warm again and told everyone how and when we first realized we were being snowed on. When we got home two hours later we put on our flannel nightgowns and pajamas and had a picnic dinner on the rug, including Hostess cupcakes.

Then I said, “I miss the snow though.” I don’t think I meant it. But I wanted to make my father laugh and see my mother roll her eyes.

www.valcomnews.com • January 27, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Arden-Carmichael News • January 27, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

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River City Chorale to perform Disney favorites

By Laura Winn

Be their guest, be their guest.

Put their voices to the test. On Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5, River City Chorale will present “It’s A Small World,” a cabaret concert of Disney tunes at Serbian Hall in Fair Oaks. Clad in costume and accompanied by a combo band, the 60-member choir will perform each day at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. for a crowd they hope includes many children enjoying the big medley, smaller chamber choir and solo arrangements. In classic cabaret style, singing servers will bring hors d’oeuvres to guests seated at themed tables and a full, nohost bar will be available.

With songs spanning the decades from 1941’s “Dumbo” to 2013’s “Frozen,” the hour-and-a-half performance, which also includes an opening set from a Dixieland jazz band, is geared toward a younger audience, explained the event’s coordinator, Pam Adcock, 72. “I think it’s important for kids to hear live music and see it performed on stage,” she said. “It’s special for a younger audience to see people actually singing live rather than just listening to music over electronics.”

Board member and tenor singer Stan Muther agrees and emphasized the show is a fun way to introduce children to choir music – a style they might not otherwise experience. “One of the problems of chorale music is that it’s not being taught in schools like it used to be, and church choirs are changing into praise bands.

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Younger people are not as familiar with it,” he said. “But if kids see it, they’ll become more interested, try it and continue with it for years.”

Longevity in the choir world is something Muther and River City Chorale know about.

This year, River City Chorale celebrates its 40th year as a group and non-profit corporation. The members, who pay their own way to perform internationally, range in age with longtime singers in their 80s and newer voices in their 40s.

Muther, who turns 74 next month, is one of the chorale’s most veteran members. He joined 23 years ago and has sang under the direction of three conductors and a number of accompanists. Muther says the current artistic director, Richard Morrissey, and accompanist, Dean Mara, are two of the best. “Dean is an incredible piano player. He can do anything.”

Morrissey, who also directed the Yuba-Sutter Symphony Orchestra and served as the Yuba City Unified School District Supervisor of Music, created his own arrangements for some of the Disney selections. Playing Disney music is familiar territory for Mara, whose resume includes recording artist for the background tracks heard at Disneyland’s Main Street, USA. For “It’s A Small World,” Mara will lead the band below a large stage, custom-built by the choir. River City Chorale is in many ways a do-it-yourself operation, and finding a venue that met all of the group’s needs – space for the traveling stage,

plus 26 to 28 eight-person tables and kitchen storage for food and drink – was a challenge, according to Adcock, but “Serbian Hall is a wonderful venue that has everything.”

The choir is also like a family, explained Adcock, who joined in 2016. “You get very close to the people that you sing with.

We care about each other – not just in the music that we make, but also in how our lives go, how we interact,” she said.

The members practice weekly and focus on harmonization and memorization. The latter is the more challenging part, according to Muther. “Memorization gets harder as you get older,” he quipped.

For the upcoming concert, Muther had to learn a lot of songs that were new to him, including the Oscarand Grammy-winning, “Let It Go.” In fact, Muther said he only watched “Frozen” for the first time a few weeks ago.

“But my grandkids had seen it, of course. They knew all the songs,” he added.

With numbers from “The Little Mermaid,” “The Jungle Book,” “Toy Story” and more, the group hopes children and adults alike will know all the words and hear their favorites in a new way.

“It’s A Small World” is River City Chorale’s most popular concert and is expected to sell out. Seats are available by

calling 331-5810 and by visiting rivercitychorale.org. Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $15 for children ages 5 to 12. Serbian Hall is located at 777 Sunset Ave. in Fair Oaks.

Call Melissa at (916) 429-9901 www.valcomnews.com

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www.valcomnews.com • January 27, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Know Your Neighbor:

CARMICHAEL puppetmaker brings shows to Swanston Park Community Center

Words by Monica stark editor@valcomnews.com

Photos by stEPhEn croWlEy stephen@valcomnews.com

Get ready for a roller coaster ride through the galaxy as the courageous Captain leads his misfit crew of aliens on a hilarious delivery mission gone wrong. Featuring movie quality animatronic creature puppets and animated-projection backdrops, this short-run performance premiers Jan. 28 and 29 at Swanston Park Community Center at noon and 2 p.m., running about 60 minutes including intermission.

Following the scripted first act, the audience is invited to join the crew of the Starship Pegasus on stage for an improvised interactive stor-

8

Arden-Carmichael News • January 27, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

yline and fly through the stars, hiding from giant creatures, helping the Captain rescue alien scientist Dr. Scarpsy from space pirates within dark caves of the intergalactic set.

Written and directed by Carmichael resident Peter Bond and starring Jesse Jones and Evan Widjaja, local improv stars from the Sacramento Comedy Spot, the production is the second episode of the "Galaxy Express" live series, which Bond hopes will continue to grow with more episodes and bigger audiences.

About a bored delivery ship captain who travels from point A to point B on various missions looking for adventure along the way, the plot centers on him falling prey to space leeches and leviathans, and a bunch of “space things”, in this second episode, the delivery is

missing; so they’re going on a rescue mission on planets.

Set on a space ship, the scenery will move around with projection imagery, allowing Bond to amp up the effects without having a high production of lights and fog. And, all the while, the puppets interact with the screen and a monster will chase them.

With an exciting plotline, the story is ideal for ages 6 to 12 and was born out of Bond’s dissatisfaction with local productions of Disney classics. "The whole reason I did this is because I was bored going to see The Lion King and I wanted to create something the whole family would enjoy."

Jokes may be appreciated by parents and slapstick stuff for the kids... and the young at heart, as Bond admits: "I like that stuff too."

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“The whole reason I did this is because I was bored going to see The Lion King and I wanted to create something the whole family would enjoy.”

–Peter Bond Included in the puppet cast are the Captain, a navigator named “Frog Guy” (for pronunciation purposes, think Russian accent); the ship’s engineer Boomer, a tiny half-man, half-caterpillar aka “manipillar”, a crotchety sour-face commander, and Dr. Scarpsy, the alien scientist.

Bringing the behind the scenes to the forefront, the puppeteers presence on stage in full view allows for more movement and helps sway the little ones’ fears of the scary looking monsters.

What began as a lofty goal of producing one episode a month, Bond scaled down his ambitions to “maybe four” episodes a year. “I’m going to keep making episodes as long as I have people act for me.”

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A self-proclaimed “unknown”, Bond’s selfmade productions of “Galaxy Express” came after years of learning about the art form via books and the internet. Starting with sock puppets, Bond’s mastery of puppet creation quickly progressed to foam latex creatures.

After "wandering aimlessly" after high school, Bond made "good money" doing real estate. "But it was not fun. I got through the short sales. With real estate you have to reinvent yourself every two years and I didn’t want to do it again," he said.

Meanwhile, Bond hit the books and now the roles have been reversed. He’s the part-time puppet maker, stay-at-home dad to children Gabriel and Charlotte and husband to wife, Christina, who he met during his teen years and is now supporting the family as a nurse.

Hooked up through the Swanston Park Community Center from offering puppet building classes there, Bond’s transition to using the facility for the performance took a natural course. Not a theater, “just a community center,” Bond brings in the lights, speakers and a screen visually transforming the multipurpose room into a theater.

“It works out pretty good and we can split the floor in half for backstage and the audience room.”

In the future, Bond hopes to expand the production into possibly a bigger venue with a bigger audience, so now’s your opportunity to experience the magic in an intimate setting. Tickets are $8 and available at www. madcreaturelab.com.

www.valcomnews.com • January 27, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

9

Local author to discuss romance thriller at Arden-Dimick Library book talk

By Monica Stark

editor@valcomnews.com

For years the CIA has been trying to capture the elusive criminal, the mysterious drug lord of all the Americas and possibly beyond, El Tiburón (The Shark). Meanwhile, a character named Sean and his partner Gary are on a routine CIA operative in Guatemala.

They’ve cornered El Jefe (The Boss) in Antigua. El Jefe retaliates by kidnapping Sport (Dr. Janet McGee), which is a mistake he will pay for. She is brought to his compound, escapes, ends up at the garbage dump, and the Guajeros rescue her (the people group living inside the dump in Guatemala-true fact). Amidst all this chaos of trying to figure out where his wife has disappeared to, the elusive Tiburón surfaces. A fictional story about love and doing whatever needs to be done to save your family, "El Tiburón", a romance thriller answers the questions: Does he save her? And, does The Shark slip away unscathed once again? That will be revealed in the book by local author H. Schussman (Heidi Gilbert). On Saturday, Jan. 28 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the ArdenDimick Library, Schussman will talk about her experienc-

es in Guatemala as well as her book "El Tiburón," which is set in a Guatemalan drug and sex trafficking cartel.

Discussion will also include her first book Counterpart (featuring Sean and Sport) as well as her current work in progress. The author will be happy to answer strategic questions about writing and getting published. Copies of her books will be available for purchase.

In an interview with the Arden-Carmichael News, Schussman stated her books have a hard time finding their place in the world of genres.

"The romantic element comes from the intense love between Dr. Janet Warrick and Agent Sean McGee which develops in the first book, Counterpart. That book, as well as El Tiburón and the other two I’m working on are conspiracy/ action adventure/ military and CIA procedural. It was exciting to be published as an ethnic (she’s African-Japanese, he’s Caucasian) romance writer, because it acknowledges long-term serious love. This husband and wife team is a force to be reckoned with."

Schussman and her very own husband welcomed a Guatemalan youth pastor into their home about six

Lic# 344700003

10

Arden-Carmichael News • January 27, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

years ago. After living with them for seven months he returned home and took their hearts with him. Subsequent trips to Guatemala have been, in part, to see him. They have attended total immersion language school for many years in various parts of the world.

Twice, they stayed in Antigua, Guatemala for a month to immerse themselves in the ancient Mayan culture. Living with the local families, they experienced things from a unique perspective. "The ruins in Antigua are amazing," Schussman says. "Probably a fourth of the city is old earthquake-shaken ruins. Nature herself seemed to create the most memorable experiences with torrential downpours turning streets into rivers and earthquakes that send everyone scurrying into the streets to escape possible rubble. I still remember sitting at the dining room table when one hit.

The 85-year-old grandmother threw up her hands and yelled ‘terremoto’ and sprinted out the front door. My husband and I just watched in wonder and then decided we ought to follow her. It’s quite an experience to be standing outside with 50 neighbors giggling nervously.

“The religious component of this Antigua and Lake Atitlan is truly remarkable. Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a show stopper. I couldn’t resist writing about the processions winding through the city from multiple directions. These processional floats are easily as big as a Greyhound bus. It looks as though it is supported on the shoulders of at least a hundred men in hooded robes.

It is preceded by the priests swinging potent incense burning lanterns. As remarkable as this is, I was even more fascinated by the intricate alfombras (carpets) made of flowers that completely covered the procession route. To see the time and effort put into making alfombras for weeks in advance, get destroyed was kind of beautiful."

Schussman has started writing a book about a woman from her age of six in the 1950s to her death, but she had such a call for more adventures of the McGees that she put her family saga on the far back burner. She now

has two McGee books in the works. "I don’t know which one will be finished first," she says. "Right now I am feverishly trying to keep up with Sean and Sport in Colombia. They went as adult chaperones with a church youth group of eight kids. Of course things don’t go as planned and I’ve been trying to get these teens back to safety. The other book is about the pirating of small luxury yachts off the coast of Costa Rica."

Discussing her writing process Schussman said it’s a series of stops and starts. "It’s sort of like having a split personality. My creative side writes the book, but my analytical side argues about believability. I seriously dislike books without a believable storyline."

And so, Schussman researches everything she doesn’t know firsthand. A physical therapist specializing in psychiatric and cognitive disorders, she sometimes steps out of her comfort zone and researches topics unfamiliar to her. For instance, while she has fired guns since she was 5, her characters have guns she never held. So, back to the researching for Schussman. "I have to use the proper military, police, and spy terminology. When I feel I could just as easily kill off my bad guy while he’s sitting in the bathroom, I rewrite it. It is a very long process. When I finished El Tiburón I had several people read it for flow and character development, and I listened to their advice.

I frequently send snippets of agent chatter to people in the spy/agent field to confirm I’m on the right track.

For my military terminology I research it online."

Once she has written a scene, she then writes it into the outline, she explained, extrapolating that the outline comes second. "It is used as a reference. I also create a character details list, so I don’t forget someone’s eye color, or the dog’s name (I have a lot of pets in my books). Once I consider the book finished, I go through it with a finetooth comb to remove extra words and sentences. Then off it goes to a minimum of three proof-readers, with at least one of those being a male," she said.

Asked if there was anything to add, Schussman said when she was young, she loved novels with flawed characters, a love that has shaped much of her writing style. "I love unique characters with real flaws or disabilities to stretch the reader. I want my reader to have learned something new and maybe a little challenging after reading my work. I avoid the patronizing tone and leave the characters to fend for themselves as they do in real life. In El Tiburón, I introduce a successful bodyguard who has paranoid schizophrenia. His audio hallucinations are part of the dialogue, making for an interesting mix. Craig is also in my pirate book. I also have heroic group who keeps Sport alive in El Tiburón: the Guajeros. The Guajeros are the lowest caste system in Guatemala. They have the nickname Cockroaches, because they have lived in the Guatemala City garbage dump for generations.

There were 11,000 at last count living there, 6,000 of which are children. Without holding back on their deplorable living conditions, I write about how they maintain their own subset of ethical standards. Essentially I write about survival."

If you go: What: Author Talk with H. Schussman When: Saturday, Jan. 28 from 3 to 4 p.m.

Where: Arden-Dimick Library, : 891 Watt Ave., Sacramento.

Links: Publisher of El Tiburónhttp://www.vinspirepublishing.com/schussman-h My author blog- http:// hschussman.blogspot.com/ Travel blog- http://dashingboldadventure.blogspot.com/ Food/wine blog- http:// the1stmiracle.blogspot.com/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/h.schussman/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/h.schussman/ Twitterhttps://twitter. com/hschussman To see images of the Guajeros simply Google “Guajeros Guatemala” and click images.

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

What’s

happening,

SATURDAY JAN. 28 SO TURNT SATURDAY: On Jan. 28 from 5-9pm there will be a teen ONLY turn up (PARTY)! Featuring performances by Domani Harris, The Bella’s, and DJ Ajani. Hosting this event will be Luke Tailor! Admission is FREE. The Center at 2300 Sierra Blvd, 95825.

BOOK TALK -- MEET THE AUTHOR: Author, Heidi Schussman will be at the Arden-Dimick library from 3-4pm on January 28th. Admission is FREE. Arden-Dimick library 891 Watt Ave, 95864. (See article on page 10.)

SUNDAY JAN. 29 Closing day of Sac Fine Arts "Animal House Exhibit: From 11am-5pm at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center there will be featured animal exhibit. Admission is FREE and all ages are welcome.

5330-B Gibbons Drive, 95608

MONDAY, JAN. 30 ELKS MONDAY NIGHT SPAGHETTI DINNER AND BINGO!: The weekly spaghetti dinner starts at 5 p.m. Attendance is limited to three or four visits per year until you will be requested to join the Elks Lodge as a member. The Bingo games are open to the public beginning at 6 p.m. and end at 10 p.m. Some lucky player will win the $500 jackpot. It might as well be YOU! Join the Carmichael Elks Lodge and Play with Kids Your Own Age! Bring friends and family. Invite them to Bingo to play a few games with you.. It will help Elks Bingo games increase contributions to the Scholarship Fund.

Carmichael Elks #2103, 5631 Cypress Ave., Carmichael.

THURSDAY, FEB. 2; FRIDAY, FEB. 3; SATURDAY, FEB. 4 NICK YOUSSEF: Need a good laugh? Then this is the event for you! Everyone over the age of 18 (with valid photo ID) is invited to see Nick Youssef at Punch Line Sacramento. From 10 p.m. to midnight, enjoy a good

laugh with a couple of friends! Punch Line Sacramento 2100 Arden Way Suite 225, 95825.

FRIDAY, FEB. 3 NANA’S NAUGHTY KNICKERS: At the Chatauqgua Playhouse enjoy a racy, naughty little comedy show! Tickets are available for purchase on their website. 5325 Engle Rd # 110, 95608

SATURDAY, FEB. 4 GROUND SQUIRREL DAY: Unwind on a relaxing stroll through the Effie Yeaw’s Nature Preserve. Learn about all sorts of underground dwelling creatures too!

Starting at 10:30am and admission is FREE. 2850 San Lorenzo Way, 95608.

SAC FINE ARTS RUMMAGE SALE: Time to clean out all those extra art supplies you no longer need. Easels, frames, paints, yarn, fabric, paper, thread, brushes, books, molds, clay tools, small mirrors, canvas and anything else. Call to sellers: Fee $20, no commission. Includes 1 table. Setup 8 am. Send or bring check and name, phone number and email address to SFAC in advance. Sacramento Fine Arts Center, 5330B Gibbons Drive, Carmichael; www.sacfinearts.org

SUNDAY FEB. 5 VEGAN SUPER BOWL PARTY: The vegan Super Bowl party is back! From 3-6pm Chef Brandon will be cooking up some amazing new creations for all you vegans! You don’t want to miss the all new Taco Cart! El Papagayo 5804 Marconi Ave, 95608.

NIGHTTIME HUNTERS: Hosted at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center starting at 1:30 p.m., come find out everything there is to know about owls! Younger ages recommend and admission is free. 2850 San Lorenzo Way, 95608.

MONDAY, FEB. 6 ELKS MONDAY NIGHT SPAGHETTI DINNER AND BINGO!: The weekly spaghetti dinner

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starts at 5 p.m. Attendance is limited to three or four visits per year until you will be requested to join the Elks Lodge as a member. The Bingo games are open to the public beginning at 6 p.m. and end at 10 p.m.

Some lucky player will win the $500 jackpot. It might as well be YOU! Join the Carmichael Elks Lodge and Play with Kids Your Own Age! Bring friends and family. Invite them to Bingo to play a few games with you. It will help Elks Bingo games increase contributions to the Scholarship Fund.

Carmichael Elks #2103, 5631 Cypress Ave., Carmichael.

THURSDAY, FEB. 9 HEARTS AND CRAFTS: From 4-5pm help the Arden-Dimick Library make some crafts for the upcoming Valentine’s Day! Younger ages recommended and admission is FREE. 891 Watt Ave, 95864.

SATURDAY, FEB. 11 SAC STATE JAZZ FEST: Enjoy a day full of New Orleans jazz when Sac State hosts the Traditional Jazz Youth Band Festival, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11, in Capistrano Hall, 6000 J St. The non-competitive fest features a day-long series of clinics, jam sessions, and performances by musicians from middle school through college. It concludes with the Clinicians Concert featuring trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso at 7 p.m. Day-long tickets are $12 at the door. Contact: (916) 278-5155.

SAC STATE YOONIE HAN CONCERT: Yoonie Han will perform the complete “Goyescas� of Enrique Granados as part of Sacramento State’s Piano Series, 7:30 p.m. in the Capistrano Concert Hall on campus, 6000 J St. Han has won top prizes in distinguished international competitions. In 2009 she received the Gawon Music Award as the “most brilliant pianist aged 17 to 31.� Tickets are $20 general admission, and $15 for seniors and students, available at (916) 278-4323 or www.csus.edu/hornettickets. Contact (916) 278-5191.

THURSDAY FEB. 22 FEBRUARY GUEST CHEF DINNER -- SADDLE ROCK: Grab a sitter for this perfect date night event!

From 6-8:30pm, chef, Chris Jarosz, is happy to be back hosting the Guest Chef Dinner in 2017! Come for amazing food and a good time. Tickets range from $50$700. 14 Business Park Way #149 95828.

FEB. 22 and 23; FEB. 24 and 25 SACRAMENTO/BLACK ART OF DANCE 25TH ANNIVERSARY DANCE CONCERT: Sacramento/ Black Art of Dance (S/BAD) celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special concert, it’s last under the directorship of Linda Goodrich. Performances are at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 and 23; 8 p.m. Feb. 24 and 25; and 2 p.m. Feb. 25 and 26, University Theatre on campus, 6000 J St. S/BAD explores the Black Concert dance form originated by Katherine Dunham. Afro-Cuban music and dance group Ebo Okokan is the special guest. Tickets are $5-$12, available at 278-4323 or www.csus.edu/hornettickets

ONGOING RECOVERY FROM GRIEF WORKSHOP: All widowed persons can participate in the recovery from grief program sponsored by the Widowed Persons’ Association of California, Sacramento, Chapter, No. 1.

There is no charge or donation required. The only criteria is that you must be widowed or the surviving member of a registered domestic partnership in the State of California. The next Recovery from Grief Workshop be Feb. 4 continuing till Feb. 25 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The meetings take place at 2628 El Camino Ave., Ste. D18. Enter through the breezeway. Call the office at 9729722 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to reserve a seat. If there is no answer at the office, leave your name, phone number and reference the workshop and someone will return your call. The Widowed Persons Association also sponsors Sunday Support Sessions which are held every Sunday at the office from 3 to 5 p.m., entering from the back parking lot at 2:30 p.m.

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13

Passion on paper Free Literature of Love course offered Feb. 1, 8

By Monica stark

editor@valcomnews.com

Poetry is made for passion.

Using sound and rhythm to convey messages of romance, beautiful love letters and literature are guaranteed to fill the hearts of students of Frank Dixon Graham’s The Literature of Love course through the McKinley Library. Free of charge, students can get set for Valentine’s Day by reading and writing passionate love letters and romantic poetry in two one-and-ahalf hour classes on consecutive Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in early February.

Frank, a published poet, the Editor of Tule Review, and adjunct professor of English at the Los Rios Colleges, will give lectures at each session and also facilitate the reading and discussion.

In lecture one, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, students will learn about the greatest love correspondents of all time.

Why did they write the best love letters? What did these lovers have to say? How did they express themselves and what stories are behind their romantic correspondences?

Attendees will hear a brief history of love letters and their star-crossed lovers.

Participants may write their own love letters in class. The authors discussed and the reading of romantic letters will be certain to inspire.

In lecture two, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, less than a week before Valentine’s Day, students will read some of the best love poems ever written.

There will be a discussion of these authors and what goes 1

into writing a meaningful or lasting love poem. Students are encouraged to enrich their own relationship by writing their own love poem in class or become inspired to express themselves with a well-crafted note to your valentine.

Open to adults “aged 18 to 81 years and older,” there is no cost associated with either session. It is free and open to the public.

A writer of many love poems, Frank noted they are less likely to get published, yet that’s not usually the intended purpose.“Love poems are either meant to express something to the person you love or they are simply created as a reminder of what was, what can be, what is, or what was. My wife is an inspiration and I have to say that I’m inspired by a moment of love or loving.”

Quotidian activities can become the most romantic when shared with someone you love, he explained, so tell those stories in your love poems. Images for love poems may come like photographs of time that one wishes to describe to the listener or reader, he said.

While there’s less of a market for love poems today, there are some poets who have found a way to delight audiences: Mark Doty, Nikki Giovanni, and even Sharon Olds all have different twists on the modern love poem, Frank added. “Pablo Neruda is, hands-down, the most romantic poet of the past century. He’s my favorite. Neruda used simple language and nature imagery to convey his message. The use of sound is critically important to Neruda and there’s something about those mel-

Arden-Carmichael News • January 27, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

Photo by John Flannery

lifluous lines that can transport one to another dimension emotionally. Poetry is made for passion. Nowhere is that more evident than with Neruda.” Available in Spanish, or in English with good translations by W.S. Merwin and others, Frank said a romantic gift-giver could hardly go wrong with Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.

If you can’t afford the book, Frank recommends getting a copy from the library and read it to your love interest over a romantic meal that you have cooked for them.

Seeing his students awaken to some beautiful experience of language or hearing a writer open up and share some detail of their life that they’ve never been able to express before are some of the greatest experiences Frank has had as a literature professor. In one of his past classes, a couple attended the writing workshops and lectures together.

“They were young. I wasn’t sure how close they were or if they really knew each other well at all. I’d like to think that their relationship blossomed as a result of the class. They were married last summer, not long after the class ended.”

Even in his non-romantic classes on writing and literature, a lot of personal material is shared. Participants support each other. They become friends and really connect with each other, he explained. Beyond the fact that

you see them develop as genuinely artful beings, a teacher of writing must love to see that connection between writers happening. Frank has coached boys’ soccer and some of the same principals apply; some of those kids will be friends for the rest of their lives. “Writing is far from the solitary experience many may think of it. It is a team effort and sometimes, as we’re about to explore, it is a fascination between two people who want to experience life on a deeper level, together.”

This isn’t the first free literature class Frank has offered at the McKinley Library. Required to complete a teaching practicum in a community environment for his master’s program in writing at Goddard College, he realized his love of teaching and decided to continue to offer classes after he graduated. So, since that time, he’s taught five series, each made up of six to eight classes. From contemporary poetics, international forms and styles of poetry to certain specific historical periods of American literature, Frank is interested in teaching a class on social justice poetry and nature poetry in the near future. From coordinating readings that serve as fundraisers for nonprofits to organizing the editing and publishing of the Sacramento Poetry Center’s next anthology, Frank enjoys facilitating other people’s creative expression through writing and literature. “I was given a lot. This is the way I know to

give back. The process is also a lot of fun.”

For as long as he can remember language has been important to Frank. “Being read to as a child can stimulate curiosity and wonder. I never stopped imagining the worlds introduced to me,” he said. At some point, life brought on challenges and he found that the best and most healthy escape was to write creatively.

Physical exercise was also an important outlet, but as arthritis set in the mental workout of creating poetry has become a more vigorous activity.

He has founded or championed a number of literary activities locally.

In the description of the first workshop, Frank writes: “We will read the beautiful love letters of both real and imaginary authors after a brief lecture on the topic.”

Thinking that might “make a few scratch their heads,” Frank explained with the following example: “Griffin and Sabine is a wonderful work of fiction by Nick Bantock. It is an epistolary novel and an exchange of love letters between two people.

The book is beautiful in design and in content, with letters that may be pulled from their envelopes within the text itself. Beyond that, some of the world’s greatest romances are documented through love letters.”

On that note, Frank added that the love letter is an almost extinct art form. “We’ve See Love letters, page 11 Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Love letters:

effort that can be documented in our writing is a worthContinued from page 10 while activity. I’ve written love given in to texting. Sexting poems for a few sweethearts. isn’t all that high of an art Some even wrote me back. form. It may be gratifying for When that kind of emotiona moment, but returning to a al exchange happens, the extangible piece of writing can, perience can be exhilarating. ultimately, be more satisfy- The closest we can become as ing. Some people may have human beings is not necessarnever read or may have never ily in the physical realm but in written a love letter. The tac- the experience made possible tile riches of opening an en- with words.” velope sealed with the tongue of one’s love interest can create a new romance or rekindle an old one. A good pen with good ink can combine with quality paper to deliver an important message.

A perfectly individualized note from someone who has affection for you in your mailbox? How fun is it to find a stamp that may have some symbolism for both of you? How much value is there in the lasting memory of a love letter? How much are we missing by not addressing our valentine with our own handwritten card or letter? The letter is a cost effective and quite complete way of conveying our thoughts to someone we care deeply about.”

In the description of the second workshop, he writes: “There will be a discussion of these authors and what goes into writing a meaningful or lasting love poem. Enrich your own relationship by writing your own love poem in class or become inspired to express yourself with a wellcrafted note to your valentine.”

Asked what makes a meaningful or lasting love poem and to describe any personal experiences, Frank shared the following: “A love poem must convey the sentiment of the admirer while stimulating the interest of the admired. Ideally, that’s the way it works.

There are rhetorical and poetic devices that are used to that end. Even still, there are situations in which that’s not possible. There are romances that fail. Love doesn’t fail. But we are human. An open expression is paramount to any poem. We all learn what it is like to experience rejection.

So we put ourselves on the line when we communicate how we truly feel. We’ve all had to learn to kindly reject others who have opened their hearts to us as well. Whether we succeed in love or whether we fail miserably trying, the Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

If you go: What: Frank Dixon Graham’s The Literature of Love course Where: Reagan Room inside the Clunie Center (third floor), 601 Alhambra Blvd.

Cost: Free When: Wednesdays, Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Who: The program is open to adults aged 18 to 81 years and older

www.valcomnews.com • January 27, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

15

evere cour R T Memory Care

Monthly Caregiver Educational Seminar

Tuesday: February 21st At 2:00pm “Effective Communication Strategies” Presented by: Denise Davis Program Director Alzheimer’s Association Appetizers provided Space Limited, Please RSVP

By February 17th

Revere Court Day Club offers socialization, supervision, assistance, and activities from 8am to 6pm, Monday through Friday in our clubhouse. We offer families theopportunity to “recharge” for the day while your loved one enjoys themselves.

Communication is more than just talking and listening it’s also about sending and receiving messages through attitude, tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. As people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias progress in their journey and the ability to use words is lost, families need new ways to connect.

Join us to explore how communication takes place when someone has Alzheimer’s, learn to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by someone with dementia, and identify strategies to help you connect and communicate at each stage of the Disease. www.RevereCourt.com 7707 Rush River Drive Sacramento, CA 95831 LIC#342700005