My Father said when he was growing up during the height of the Great Depression, his Mother would make extra dinner once a week, enough food to feed the family at the end of the street with 6 kids. During the Depression, only one person per household was allowed to work to spread out the jobs. The father had lost his job. The mother had to raise those 6 kids. They were poor. They were thin and starving. All the neighbors took turns. Everyone pitched in to help this family in need. The neighbors were only too happy to share what little they had with their neighbor not as fortunate as they.
America was not a wealthy country, yet, people appreciated what they had. Respect for each other and respecting a neighbor's feelings was paramont. One never embarassed another person for any reason. What we now refer to as "Old World" values and ideals were the rules of the day. Upon meeting someone, the first questions one would typically ask were: "Who is your family?", "Where are you and your family from?", and "What is your education." Families lived within their means.
We started this country for the purpose of small government and in the 1930's, government was still small. There was no public assistance, no food stamps, no Section 8 housing, no Social Security and workers had few rights. With progress came the good and the bad, but have we now bought into the mindset that government owes us everything as a "Right?" Please, help thy neighbor, treat others as you would wish to be treated. Please, be responsible for onself, one's children and one's family.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
6 Degrees of Friends
I have heard there are 6 degrees of separation connections among us all. I think it is more like two, but, I digress.
They're are, however 6 degrees of friendships: Friends of friends, acquaintances, surface friends at an arm length, friends, close friends and finally, lifetime friends.
Friends of friends have heard of you, acquaintances know who you are, surface friends one can chat with, friends one can confide some truths, close friends one can confide closer truths, but lifetime friends know your soul, influence your life and stick with you through trials and thicknesses. Lifetime friends are as close as family, and can be substituted for family, if one has not much of a family. Cheers, salut, and chin chin to those lifetime friends!
To celebrate "Lifetime Friends", a poem:
May you through life be blessed,
With friends selected from the best,
And in return may you extend,
That gem of love to every friend.
They're are, however 6 degrees of friendships: Friends of friends, acquaintances, surface friends at an arm length, friends, close friends and finally, lifetime friends.
Friends of friends have heard of you, acquaintances know who you are, surface friends one can chat with, friends one can confide some truths, close friends one can confide closer truths, but lifetime friends know your soul, influence your life and stick with you through trials and thicknesses. Lifetime friends are as close as family, and can be substituted for family, if one has not much of a family. Cheers, salut, and chin chin to those lifetime friends!
To celebrate "Lifetime Friends", a poem:
May you through life be blessed,
With friends selected from the best,
And in return may you extend,
That gem of love to every friend.
Your Mother
Minnie Hannah Schaefer
December 26, 1905
December 26, 1905
International gift giving
Gift Giving Protocol varries from country to country. Traditions and superstitions behind gift giving grow out of the particular cultural, societial and religious beliefs. Did you know:
Appropriate gifts in Europe include: most flowers, chocolates, liquors, books, porcelain or silver.
Inappropriate gifts in Europe include: Logo products, perfume, red roses (only for your own spouse), white flowers (funeral flowers), anything extravagant (never want to show off).
Appropriate gifts in Taiwan - Singapore include: Quality pen, Leather daily planner, Journal, books and Scotch liquor.
Inappropriate gifts in Taiwan - Singapore include: Food or Bourbon, a clock, wall decoration, anything 'Made in Asia.'
Appropriate gifts in Latin America include: Perfume, chocolates or logo gift, gifts for children and gifts for the entire family.
Inappropriate gifts in Latin America include: Kives, hankerchiefs, anything the color of Black or Purple, anything numbering 13, inappropriate to arrive empty-handed, excessive gifts.
Call the Embassy of your host country or go to the library or travel section in a bookstore, or search the internet and do your research before visiting any country. You will be considered a good traveler, you will have an easier time with your travels. As opposed to being called "the Ugly American", you can be proud to be a good American traveler.
Appropriate gifts in Europe include: most flowers, chocolates, liquors, books, porcelain or silver.
Inappropriate gifts in Europe include: Logo products, perfume, red roses (only for your own spouse), white flowers (funeral flowers), anything extravagant (never want to show off).
Appropriate gifts in Taiwan - Singapore include: Quality pen, Leather daily planner, Journal, books and Scotch liquor.
Inappropriate gifts in Taiwan - Singapore include: Food or Bourbon, a clock, wall decoration, anything 'Made in Asia.'
Appropriate gifts in Latin America include: Perfume, chocolates or logo gift, gifts for children and gifts for the entire family.
Inappropriate gifts in Latin America include: Kives, hankerchiefs, anything the color of Black or Purple, anything numbering 13, inappropriate to arrive empty-handed, excessive gifts.
Call the Embassy of your host country or go to the library or travel section in a bookstore, or search the internet and do your research before visiting any country. You will be considered a good traveler, you will have an easier time with your travels. As opposed to being called "the Ugly American", you can be proud to be a good American traveler.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Miniature Earth:Facts From Their Website
Did you know ....If the population of the Earth was a small community of 100, the world would look something like this....
61 Asian
12 European
14 American
13 African
1 Australian
50 Men
50 Women
33 Are Christian
67 Are NOT Christian
6 People own 59% of the wealth of the community
25 live on $1.00 per day or less
47 live on $2.00 per day or less
13 Are hungry or malnourished
14 Cannot read
7 Are educated
You are better off than 75% of the world if....
You have clothes in a closet,
You have food in a fridge,
You have a bank account.
Appreciate what you have. Do your best for a better world.
Work hard and be kind to all people.
61 Asian
12 European
14 American
13 African
1 Australian
50 Men
50 Women
33 Are Christian
67 Are NOT Christian
6 People own 59% of the wealth of the community
25 live on $1.00 per day or less
47 live on $2.00 per day or less
13 Are hungry or malnourished
14 Cannot read
7 Are educated
You are better off than 75% of the world if....
You have clothes in a closet,
You have food in a fridge,
You have a bank account.
Appreciate what you have. Do your best for a better world.
Work hard and be kind to all people.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Poem about How To Speak To Others
A Poem from my book: "Forget-Me-Not, Forget-Me-Never,
Remember the Fun We Had Together." p. 70
If pleasures path you wish to see,
Five things observe with care,
To whom you speak, of whom you speak,
And when, and how, and where,
Florence Gaynor
June 21, 1906
Remember the Fun We Had Together." p. 70
If pleasures path you wish to see,
Five things observe with care,
To whom you speak, of whom you speak,
And when, and how, and where,
Florence Gaynor
June 21, 1906
Saturday, March 21, 2009
LTTE Town & Country Magazine: "Lady and the Vamp" and Teaching Tolerance.
Dear Ms. Fiori,
Thank y'all for your article: "The Lady and the Vamp," by Molly Haskell in your February 2009 issue. It was refreshing to read an article about a few 'characters' outside of New York City. The complicated and controversial Scarlett and the sweet, simple yet steely Melanie characters from "Gone with the Wind" are more alike than first glance gives us. They admired, complimented, tolerated, loved and forgave each other. Forgiveness. Not a quality recently seen on Reality TV (or what I call 'mean TV'), in movies, books or other print media.
Speaking of forgiveness, The Margaret Mitchell House and Museum in Atlanta is where the true reality of my revealing and relevant story particular to our time begins. Margaret Mitchell lived in this two story house for seven years while writing her Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, Gone with the Wind. This historic site scrapes by and struggles to survive not only because donors and donations are few, but because some regard Gone with the Wind to be a racist movie and book (I wonder how many people have actually read the book), and repeatedly keep trying to burn down the house.
The tour starts out typically enough with a walk through the house, then her apartment which is furnished with "alike furnishings and a typewriter of the period" from, as we were told by the guide, Goodwill. A bit shocking. The first treat, however, was the mahogany lion head gargoyle adorning the staircase outside of Margaret Mitchell's apartment. Upon entering and exiting her small, ground floor home she rubbed the lion head for good luck.
Down the stairs of the house into the brick basement we were shuffled for the second half of the tour. Immediately upon entering, under glass and on the brick walls were many of Margaret Mitchell's letters to her family and relatives there for our viewing and reading. In perusing this remarkable collection of letters, one can see the natural writer in Margaret Mitchell's soul. A God calling in her life she thankfully answered to. Then, the tour took a most unexpected turn after rounding the corner.
In plain view were approximately 30 very nicely produced photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Bob Adelman. Large, vivid, striking portraits of the men and of the time.
Quietly in the middle of the exhibit hung a black & white photograph of a ten year old Martin Luther King, Jr., standing on the front stairs of what was a Hollywood 'mock up' of Tara, singing 'Negro Spirituals' with the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir for the 1939 Gone with the Wind movie Premiere Ball. His father was the choir director.
Surrounding the choir, milling about the grounds, was Atlanta's privileged society enjoying their privileges. An all white audience, white men stood in their white tie, top hat and white gloves, white ladies watched in their furs, beautiful ball gowns, white gloves and evening clutches. Some members of this polite society were photographed listing casually to the choir, as others were seemingly there to see and be seen.
Then, the stark reality hit. There stood Martin Luther King, Jr., as a boy, part of the entertainment for the cream of a society that in 1939 he was not allowed to be a participant. Amazingly, as an adult, he rose like cream to the top, emerging in an American society not only as a grand figure of national importance, but as a tolerant, important role model for his generation and future generations to come.
My Father always said: 'The cream rises to the top,' and it does. And it has. Maybe it is time for us all to find a little forgiveness in our hearts, souls and our lives.
Thank y'all for your article: "The Lady and the Vamp," by Molly Haskell in your February 2009 issue. It was refreshing to read an article about a few 'characters' outside of New York City. The complicated and controversial Scarlett and the sweet, simple yet steely Melanie characters from "Gone with the Wind" are more alike than first glance gives us. They admired, complimented, tolerated, loved and forgave each other. Forgiveness. Not a quality recently seen on Reality TV (or what I call 'mean TV'), in movies, books or other print media.
Speaking of forgiveness, The Margaret Mitchell House and Museum in Atlanta is where the true reality of my revealing and relevant story particular to our time begins. Margaret Mitchell lived in this two story house for seven years while writing her Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, Gone with the Wind. This historic site scrapes by and struggles to survive not only because donors and donations are few, but because some regard Gone with the Wind to be a racist movie and book (I wonder how many people have actually read the book), and repeatedly keep trying to burn down the house.
The tour starts out typically enough with a walk through the house, then her apartment which is furnished with "alike furnishings and a typewriter of the period" from, as we were told by the guide, Goodwill. A bit shocking. The first treat, however, was the mahogany lion head gargoyle adorning the staircase outside of Margaret Mitchell's apartment. Upon entering and exiting her small, ground floor home she rubbed the lion head for good luck.
Down the stairs of the house into the brick basement we were shuffled for the second half of the tour. Immediately upon entering, under glass and on the brick walls were many of Margaret Mitchell's letters to her family and relatives there for our viewing and reading. In perusing this remarkable collection of letters, one can see the natural writer in Margaret Mitchell's soul. A God calling in her life she thankfully answered to. Then, the tour took a most unexpected turn after rounding the corner.
In plain view were approximately 30 very nicely produced photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Bob Adelman. Large, vivid, striking portraits of the men and of the time.
Quietly in the middle of the exhibit hung a black & white photograph of a ten year old Martin Luther King, Jr., standing on the front stairs of what was a Hollywood 'mock up' of Tara, singing 'Negro Spirituals' with the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir for the 1939 Gone with the Wind movie Premiere Ball. His father was the choir director.
Surrounding the choir, milling about the grounds, was Atlanta's privileged society enjoying their privileges. An all white audience, white men stood in their white tie, top hat and white gloves, white ladies watched in their furs, beautiful ball gowns, white gloves and evening clutches. Some members of this polite society were photographed listing casually to the choir, as others were seemingly there to see and be seen.
Then, the stark reality hit. There stood Martin Luther King, Jr., as a boy, part of the entertainment for the cream of a society that in 1939 he was not allowed to be a participant. Amazingly, as an adult, he rose like cream to the top, emerging in an American society not only as a grand figure of national importance, but as a tolerant, important role model for his generation and future generations to come.
My Father always said: 'The cream rises to the top,' and it does. And it has. Maybe it is time for us all to find a little forgiveness in our hearts, souls and our lives.
Monday, March 16, 2009
LTTE Vogue Magazine - Extremely thin models
Dear Ms. Wintour,
As pleasing as your plea to all designers to: "consider athleticism and vitality as assets in the wearing of great fashion," sounds, we both know the fashion industry better.
My Mother, who worked on Seventh Avenue for 25 years often said: "designers will always want models who look like 'human hangers' because the clothes hang better on them.
After College, my first job in 1983 was working for a popular, well loved designer as an order clerk/receptionist/house model. At 5' 10" tall, I started the job weighing 136 pounds. One year later, I weighed a mere 118 pounds. I was offered an entree into the runway business if I would lose 15 more pounds. I also had an offer in Paris, but knew the unspoken, unwritten rule was "once over the pond, under 100 pounds." I thought seriously about both offers and passed on both having been told by the persons offering me these positions that I was not going to be able to eat anything, ever. Ever. Ever.
Twenty-five years later, this international, "under 100" silent rule has simply traveled across the pond to the USA. There undoubtedly is and will continue to be an unspoken, unwritten pressure within the fashion industry for models to be extremely thin.
Governments, Prada wearers and TV show personalities cannot regulate weight for models. Only we the general public can be definitively responsible for what we will tolerate and what media we will purchase, watch and subscribe to for our enjoyment and escapism.
As pleasing as your plea to all designers to: "consider athleticism and vitality as assets in the wearing of great fashion," sounds, we both know the fashion industry better.
My Mother, who worked on Seventh Avenue for 25 years often said: "designers will always want models who look like 'human hangers' because the clothes hang better on them.
After College, my first job in 1983 was working for a popular, well loved designer as an order clerk/receptionist/house model. At 5' 10" tall, I started the job weighing 136 pounds. One year later, I weighed a mere 118 pounds. I was offered an entree into the runway business if I would lose 15 more pounds. I also had an offer in Paris, but knew the unspoken, unwritten rule was "once over the pond, under 100 pounds." I thought seriously about both offers and passed on both having been told by the persons offering me these positions that I was not going to be able to eat anything, ever. Ever. Ever.
Twenty-five years later, this international, "under 100" silent rule has simply traveled across the pond to the USA. There undoubtedly is and will continue to be an unspoken, unwritten pressure within the fashion industry for models to be extremely thin.
Governments, Prada wearers and TV show personalities cannot regulate weight for models. Only we the general public can be definitively responsible for what we will tolerate and what media we will purchase, watch and subscribe to for our enjoyment and escapism.
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