On Friday, our Riverton Writer's Group met. The group has been active for more than 35 years. I have been a member for about 15 of them. Of the original founders, one had published a World War II memoir, she had been a nurse in the Pacific, one had been a professor at Rugers in the English Department, and of the current members, one had been a newspaper reporter, one had over 100 essays (paid for) published, and probably close to 150 published in all. She also has a flourishing business as a storyteller in the South Jersey area. At present, she has been composing a variety of programs based on Colonial happening and people such Benedict Arnold, Hamilton, and Betsy Ross. One is a renowned local poet, and I have independently published two novels and won a poetry prize and had my some poems published in the Mad Poets Annual Poetry Review. I don't write poetry anymore but I still appreciate it and our poet, Tom Clapham is celebrating a birthday this month, so we were having a cake to honor him at our writing club meeting on July 1st. We had another poet, Dan Maguire, who moved to Baltimore, and we have another writer who has published two or three books on Philadelphia, but health and his tour business kept him from our summer meeting.
I went to Desserts by esign, becasue I have bought things there before and they are excellent bakers and I like to support local businesses whenever I can. I bought a smal (feeds 6) carrot cake that was just exquisite and very reasonable. It had a small bouquet of blue and yellow pansies scrolled inincing on top with the birthday message and the cream cheese icing was encrusted with toasted coconut. The cake was flavorful, moist and utterly mouthwateringly delicious, so I wanted to let you know about this little bakery in case you are looking for pastry or a birthday cak. It is located at 105 West Merchant Street, Audubon, NJ 08106, phone number 856-310-0044.
There are a few summer birthdays I like to celebrate by sending gifts to good animal charities such as Best Friends, PETA, Greenpeace, and especially Alley Cat Allies. If you have reached the age where you are paring down and de-cluttering the accumulatins of a lifetime, the last thing you need is a half dozen more objects for your birthday, even if they are chosen with affection and thought, but a donation to a charity is a doubly useful gift, it shows you care, and it helps those who need your help the most.
In my Weight Watcher Meeting, a week ago, we talked about de-cluttering, and the current Goodwill expose' and scandal, so I wanted to mention the Seeds of Hope charity in the Brooklawn shopping center. It is around the corner that houses PetSo. on the far side of the strip mall from Shop Rite. They furnish homes for the needy and they clothe the homeless and help homeless shelters in Camden.
Happy 4th of July, and if you are traveling I hope you have safe travels and clear highways! Happy Trails, Jo Ann
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