MEMBERconnection AFTER SEVERAL FAILED attempts to sell his original screenplays to Hollywood, Costco member Tony Bustamante was almost ready to abandon his lifelong dream of making it in the movie business. Instead, he found a new outlet for his screenwriting and production talents—one that provides him with great personal satisfaction and brings smiles to young boys and girls. Through his company, Lights! Camera! Birthday!, the Westchester, Illinois, father of three turns kids’ birthday parties into mini Hollywood-style movie sets where partygoers get to star in their own short feature film. Party planners visiting his website (
www.lightscamerabirth day.com) can choose one of Bustamante’s prepared screen- plays (“The Lost Guitar of Lazarre,” a pirate tale, is a favorite) or work with Bustamante to create a customized script. “On the day of the party, we show up with props, costumes, script, camera, lights—all the equipment we need to film the movie,” he explains. “Then the kids get all dressed up, I coach them on what to say and we roll the tape.” When filming is complete, Bustamante and his assistant edit he raw footage, add music and burn the final DVD. When possi- ble, the postproduction work is completed on-site, so the kids can go home with their own copy of the movie the same day. Bustamante doesn’t mind not making it big in Hollywood: “Being able to deliver a personalized keepsake that kids can watch, that moms and dads will look at years later when their boy or girl is grown up—for me, that’s as gratifying as winning the Oscar for best movie.”—David J. Dee or send it to: The Member Connection, The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 4088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088. Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.
ROBERT BRACHER
98 ;e Costco Connection MAY 2011
Kids’ birthdays–
Hollywood style
Painted
memories
JEAN STODDARD was born in New York
in 1917 and lived most of her life overseas in
more than 15 countries, first as a daughter
of a U.S. military attaché and then as the
wife of a U.S. diplomat. As she moved
around, she loved to paint what she saw.
After she died in 2006, her daughter
Kiki Cook decided to honor her memory by
producing greeting cards from her paintings.
She chose 12 paintings from more than 300
painted by her mother (many owned by
relatives), took pictures of them and had
a printer produce the cards.
Historic walk
ACCORDING TO family
lore, Carole Estby Dagg’s
great-grandmother Helga
Estby and great-aunt Clara
Estby walked roughly 4,000
miles across America in 1896.
Why? A mysterious party
back East wagered $10,000
the pair could not walk from
Washington state to New
York in seven months. It was
an offer Helga Estby could
not refuse, as the family farm
was facing foreclosure due to
her husband Ole’s back injury
and the Panic of 1893.
Dagg re-creates their
journey in the book The Year
We Were Famous (
www.carole
estbydagg.com), letting her
imagination fill the gaps
between known facts found
in old newspaper articles.
Mother and daughter
headed east along the railroad
tracks from Mica Creek (near
Spokane), armed with a compass, maps, first-aid supplies,
a pistol and journals. They
wore out 32 pairs of shoes,
and survived a highwayman
attack and days without food
or water. You’ll need to read
the book to find out if they
made it on time.
Over 15 years, Dagg, a
Costco member in Everett,
Washington, researched,
wrote and revised the story.
Then, in 2006, the retired
librarian and accountant
won the Society of Children’s
Book Writers and Illustrators’
Sue Alexander Award for
most promising new manuscript for children 11 years
and up, which ultimately led
to a book contract.
“When I was younger I
didn’t like history,” says Dagg.
“But when you’re looking at
real people, you get enmeshed
and it becomes much more
interesting. Maybe it’s an
inherited perseverance gene
from my ancestors.”—SM
SHARE YOUR STORY
If you have a note, photo or story to share about Costco
or Costco members, email
connection@costco.com
with “The Member Connection” in the subject line,
