Author Archives: Keesha Cuthbert

The Unity Candle

Nationality: African American
Age: 26
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: San Bernardino, CA
Primary Language: English

Shirley Turner Jean grew up in Rialto, California.  She graduated from Dwight D Eisenhower high school I 2004.  From there, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Cal State San Bernardino.  Shortly thereafter, Shirley obtained a Masters Degree in Kinesiology from Azusa Pacific University.  She has sense obtained a number of credentials from Azusa Pacific University.  She currently lives in San Bernardino, California and teaches at Synergy Middle School in Los Angeles, California.  She is a PE teacher.

We had a beautiful wedding this past October that my beautiful friend, Keesha, helped put together.  (pauses and smiles at me)  Anyhoo, it was help at this garden in Glendale.  It was very intimate … and very hot, actually.  We did a lot of symbolic things to reinforce the idea of us coming together as a single unit.  One of the things that I wanted to emphasize was the union of our families.  Because, let me tell you, it is so true.  You don’t just marry the man, you marry his momma and all the other crazy relatives too!  So, we did the unity candle.  During the ceremony we had my mom on my end of the alter light a candle and his mom did the same on his side.  They both walked up to where we were standing and lit one, big, candle together.  To me, it symbolized how the two families had to come together to make this union work.  Now, I kind of wish I didn’t need so much of his mom’s input and participation in my marriage.  (laughs for a few seconds.  Then looks me straight in the face.)  Keesha, and it was pretty and stuff.

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It seems like this was only added to the wedding ceremony because it was a tradition and was aesthetically pleasing.  However, when put into practice and what it really means to the future marriage, it isn’t exactly warranted.

Dear Heavenly Father …

Nationality: African American
Age: 26
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: San Bernardino, CA
Primary Language: English

Shirley Turner Jean grew up in Rialto, California.  She graduated from Dwight D Eisenhower high school I 2004.  From there, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Cal State San Bernardino.  Shortly thereafter, Shirley obtained a Masters Degree in Kinesiology from Azusa Pacific University.  She has sense obtained a number of credentials from Azusa Pacific University.  She currently lives in San Bernardino, California and teaches at Synergy Middle School in Los Angeles, California.  She is a PE teacher.

My husband and I pray together every night.  After we have finished our day and are getting ready for bed, we take a minute to hold hands and pray.  Our pastor always says that a couple that prays together, stays together so we try to make sure that we do this every night.  So, we get on our knees next to our bed, hold hands, and pray.  We thank God for all of the things that He has provided for us and our family and friends.  We thank him for blessing us and we ask that He continues to bless us.  If any of the people we know are travelling we ask for Travelling Grace for them and we ask for Him to intervene in the lives of anyone that needs His help. … I don’t know how else to explain it.  We just have a conversation with God.  After that, we lay down and sleep.

Inny, Minny, Miny, Moe

Nationality: American
Age: 44
Occupation: Director of non-profit organization
Residence: Manhattan Beach, CA
Primary Language: English

Dione Surdez Oliver was born in Santa Ana, California in 1969.  She moved to Crooks, South Dakota when she was four years old.  She grew up on her family’s small dairy farm.  At the age of eighteen she moved back to Southern California.  She worked in the music industry for some time as well as a legal assistant for a number of years.  In 2003 Dione decided to pursue her educational endeavors and began studying at Santa Monica Community College.  She transferred to the University of Southern California in the fall of 2006 and was granted the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund Scholarship.  In 2009 Dione graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative writing and a minor in Cultural Anthropology.  She graduated with honors and received the Order of Troy.  She currently resides in Manhattan Beach, California and where she is the director of CrossFit Zen and is working on entering the Masters of Professional Writing program at USC.

Inny, Minny, Miny, Moe

Catch a nigger by his toe

If he hollers, let him go

Inny, Minny, Miny, Moe

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This is an oicotype of a very common childhood game.  Usually, it says “Catch a tiger by his toe.”  Dione informed me that this is the original version of the song.  Apparently, it was changed because of how derogatory it is towards African Americans.  As a native Californian, it would make sense that I have never heard this, as California is a little more tolerant state and a lot more diversified than most.  However, I bet that if I travelled to the South or the Midwest I would hear it more commonly.

The Broom of Doom

Nationality: African American
Age: 56
Occupation: Warehouse Supervisor
Residence: Rialto, California
Primary Language: English

Richard L Cuthbert was born in Savannah, Georgia.  His father was in the United States Air Force and Richard ending being raised by his paternal grandmother.  He moved to Compton, California with his relatives from his father’s side of the family.  It is here where he met his high school sweetheart, Twesa Cuthbert.  They had two children together.  Richard (now widowed) currently lives in Rialto, California with his daughter, Keesha Cuthbert.

 

When I was a kid, living down by the swamps in Savannah, I was up doing my chores one morning.  I think I was cleaning up the kitchen … yeah, I must have been because I was sweeping.  Anyway, Grandma Mamie was sitting in her chair and I accidentally swept her foot.  She had a fit and started yelling at me.  I had no idea what she was saying, and I musta looked like it cause she just grabbed the broom from me and told me to spit on it right away so she didn’t get bad luck.  I didn’t get it, but I figured if I didn’t do it I was gonna get it with one of her switches.  So, I hawked up a loogie and spit it on the broom.  I thought she would be mad because it was a nasty one but, instead, she just sat back down in her chair and kept watching TV as if nothing happened at all.  I just stood there confused.  She looked over at me and said, “You better finish sweeping this floor, boy.”  So, I picked it back up and kept on sweeping.

Spellbinding Spaghetti

Nationality: African American
Age: 56
Occupation: Warehouse Supervisor
Residence: Rialto, California
Primary Language: English

Richard L Cuthbert was born in Savannah, Georgia.  His father was in the United States Air Force and Richard ending being raised by his paternal grandmother.  He moved to Compton, California with his relatives from his father’s side of the family.  It is here where he met his high school sweetheart, Twesa Cuthbert.  They had two children together.  Richard (now widowed) currently lives in Rialto, California with his daughter, Keesha Cuthbert.

One thing that I have a hard time eating from any other woman is spaghetti.  I know that it is probably just a silly superstition, and I wouldn’t exactly say that I am a superstitious man, but every time I see a plate of spaghetti that I didn’t prepare I get a weird feeling.  As the story goes, women, especially from the South, that are islanders in any way … I’m talking Jamaican or those women that practice voodoo, sometime put blood from their women’s cycle into the sauce.  Supposedly this is to make the mean that eat it fall under some sort of spell and be in love with them.  I personally think that this is disgusting and I cannot imagine any woman doing something that nasty.  I also can’t figure why,  if they did do this, that they wouldn’t put it in a more Creole dish, like gumbo or jumbalaya.  A dish that has more to do with their heritage.  Spaghetti has nothing to do with them, so in a lot of ways I don’t believe it.  But … women ARE crazy so I don’t know.