Today’s Weekly Words … Late? Early? Yes & Yes! March did indeed come in like a Pride of Lions, with many things happening at once … an incredibly Bittersweeet mix of Joys & Sorrows, Tender Kindness & Brutal Violence.
In my little world, the first week of March offered a Great-Grandboy’s Birthday party, a Celebrations of Life for a friend who left us too soon, and the privilege of sitting with a dear one who, at almost 103, is leaving on her own time, slowly and gently. Showing up, sorting it all out, and celebrating what is NOW has kept me busy.
Not too busy, though, to overlook the fact of March being Women’s History Month. With waaaay too many significant women for me to list as heroes and role models for my life, I’m suggesting something different this week … that you, my sisters in Rascalhood, share some of your favorite historical women; women who have made a difference for you, personally. Maybe bring us a look at Nebraska’s State Senate Fillibuster Champion Machaela Cavenaugh, or my favorite historian, Heather Cox Richardson. Let’s hear it for your female heroes! Who were they and what did they do to influence who you’ve become? Let’s talk about them this Sunday, March 12th at 4pm PDT (yes, I did say Daylite Saving Time) this month’s Second Sunday Speaking of Poetry and … online conversation.
In case you didn’t know (and in case you’re interested), for me it’s Ruth Gordon as the inimitable Maude in the classic movie “Harold & Maude”, who holds top billing in my list of role models, second only to the inimitable Stella from my childhood. I’ll have a longer list by the time Sunday rolls around and hope you will too.
And just one more thing. If you’re looking for evidence that there is hope for the future of healthier outcomes from our country’s education system, you’ll want to be sure to watch the video recording of our Conversation with Chelsea King that happened on February 26th.
And if you haven’t found Stella yet in the pages of Arms Filled With Bittersweet, here she is.
Always there was Stella.
She was smart. She was funny.
Her laugh was loud and she swore
in Polish.My mother’s oldest friend,
Stella was my role model,
one of those larger than life
women who made up for a
less than beautiful face and
dress size 16 with kind words,
ready smiles and no judgements.
It was Stella who introduced me
to the words of Emile Zola. “If
you ask me what I have come to do
in the world, I will tell you I have come
to live out loud.”
Stay Strong, Stay Safe, and Be Well!
As you know, I adore Ruth Gordon! I must have watched Harold and Maude 30 times, plus everything else I could find her in. Irrepressible but no fool!
Tied for second is Hedy Lamarr, the gorgeous and skilled actress who also invented too many things to list. One was for WW2, a system of “frequency hopping” among radio waves where transmitter and receiver both hopped to new frequencies together. This stopped interception of the radio waves before a torpedo could find its intended target. That frequency hopping is the basis today for Wifi internet.
The other lady tied for second is Julia Child. She also served in WW2 (as a spy!) but more impressive to me is how she found something she loved and had enough eye for opportunity, and tenacity, to find a way to share it with others. French cooking wasn’t regularly found in US households until she showed us all why and how it could be. She persevered through a lot of hurdles, notably a lack of conventional beauty, which greases many a wheel. Sorry, on second thought, Hedy: you are in third now.
3 great ones to be sure, Steph. And then, of course, there’s the Great Lady Herself, the unstoppable RBG, who reminded us that the difference between a bookkeeper (her mother’s profession) and a Supreme Court Justice was a single generation. And how about Laurel Thatcher Ulrich who reminded us that “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”? Rascals all!