International Women's Day ~

International Women's Day ~

Today is International Women's Day and until one of the special women in my life sent a kind note to me, I had not thought of it.

The following, a quote from a notable lady, Maria Shriver,* for special women everywhere:

"A deep change for me was realizing I'd have to take the time to know what I feel, in order to know who I am and who I want to be. . .
"The change doesn't have to be huge, but it may have to be deep.

"You may believe you're not allowed to think of yourself as separate from your job, your family, and all the other legacies you inhabit.

"But what I've come to understand is that we are first and foremost human beings in our own right.  We're entitled to our own lives, our own dreams and goals, our own legacies.
"I've finally learned after all these years that I don't need to define myself with a certain job or a certain name or a certain role in order to tell myself who I am.  I've learned that all my roles are simply a part of me ` but they're not all of me.
"Now that I'm not so obsessed about whether I measure up to other people's expectations, I've found a new gentleness and kindness in myself, for myself and for others.
"What matters most to me now is what I expect of myself.  What matters most to me now is that I know myself ~ what my heart feels, what my inner voice is telling me."

~ Just Who Will You Be?  *Maria Shriver, Hyperion, 2008.  Journalist, author, former First Lady of California.

The Reading Mother

By Strickland Gillian

I had a Mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellowed teeth,
“Blackbirds” stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness lent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings ~
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each Mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold,
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold
Richer than I, you can never be.
I had a Mother who read to me.

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday!

Photo: lbw files

Smile for Today ~

"I start every morning with the New York Times.  The first thing I do when I get up is read the obituary column.  If my names isn't in it, I get dressed."
~ Alan King (1927 - 2004) American actor, comedian.

"Do you know the first thing I do every day?  I read the New York Times obituary page, because maybe a pianist has died somewhere."
~ Leopold Godowsky (1870 - 1938)  Noted Polish-American pianist.

"I always turn to the sports page first.  The sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page nothing but man's failure."
~ Earl Warren (1891 - 1974) 14th Chief Justice of U.S.A.

~ True Confessions, Compiled by Jon Winokur, Penguin Books, 1992.



The Morning Sun

 Photography is sometimes a funny coincidence.

Smile for Today ~

In the course of conversation at an American dinner party Einstein's neighbor, a young girl, asked the white-haired professor:  "What are you actually by profession?"  Einstein replied:  "I devote myself to the study of physics."
The girl looked at him in astonishment.  "You mean to say you study physics at your age?"  she exclaimed.  "I finished mine a year ago."

~ THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF Anecdotes, Clifton Fadiman, 1885.





Clearing the Ice

  Bitterly Chilly ~ Progress on the Bridge ~ Photos:  Tuesday March 5

Three Caissons




Construction of Caissons on South Side

 

Cayuga Mutual Overlooking The Grand River

Upon discovery of a valley and a beautiful stream, Alexander Graham Bell observed, "Now just think of that.  Here was a beautiful gorge, half a mile long, right on my own place, and coming at one point within fifty feet of a well-trodden road ~ and I never knew of its existence before!  We are all too much inclined, I think, to walk through life with our eyes shut.  There are things all around us, and right at our very feet, that we have never seen:  because we have never really looked.
"Don't keep forever on the public road, going only where others have gone, and following one after the other like a flock of sheep.  Leave the beaten track occasionally..."

~ GENIUS AT WORK Images of Alexander Graham Bell, Dorothy Harley Eber, McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1982.

(Photos: Ouse Street ~ Around the corner from the bookshop)