“It came over me that any woman who ever loves more than one man must carry forever with her, in her heart, a ghost.” —Janice Holt Giles Cecilia was on a sojourn to Washington, D.C. and it was a beautiful Summer weekend. The Botanic Gardens were exceptionally pretty. She went...
Last of two parts Native Americans arrived in Pennsylvania approximately 14,000 BCE years ago. The tribes lived by farming, hunting, and fishing. The Keystone State gained U.S. statehood in 1787 and has approximately 15 million population. The state tree is the Eastern Hemlock and the state bird is the ruffed...
First of two parts The history of the city of Philadelphia is one of import and significance. Truly a remarkable repository of our Nation’s past. Situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, it has a population today of approximately 1.6 million residents. In 1646 the first church...
“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” President A. Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19,...
How enchanting it is to teach primary children! Especially preschool and first graders. Their joy and enthusiasm is infectious. One morning as the children were coming into the first grade classroom, I stood at the door to welcome them, and a little one looked up at me and exclaimed, “Boy,...
“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer (God).” Corrie ten Boom Cornelia Arnolda Johanna “Corrie” ten Boom was born April 15, 1892 in Haarlem, Netherlands. Her father, Casper, was a...
Alice was visiting the ancient home and fortress of the Earls and Dukes of Atholl which was situated in the wide Strath of Garry on the main route through the Scottish central Highlands. The Banvie burn runs in front of the castle and tumbles through its narrow glen among the...
Such a bucolic April day it was. Such a meandering spirit drove Dairy to the woods near her home in the green hills of Ireland, but close to Dublin and to the source of fairy folklore. The fairy queen is many times thought to be a form of the Celtic...
“We need hours of endless wandering or …time sitting on park benches observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops.” — Maya Angelou The April trees were dancing with new leaves in the Spring winds. They spoke of eternity, permanence, and of change. Trees and plants constitute...
Daylight cascaded across the Piazza di Spagna that Easter week. The weather had been blissfully moderate for a Roman April. Temperatures rose past 60 degrees daytime. Patricia had booked her April vacation for Easter week and she planned to meet some friends who lived there. They would take their morning...
“The Earth was the most glorious instrument and I was audience to its strains.” — Henry David Thoreau April arrives. Glorious, sunny rain-filled, early Spring is April. Time for black umbrellas bouncing down the street and for windy days blowing the green garden shoots this way and that. There are...
“We find ourselves in the peaceful possession of the fairest portion of the earth as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate.” — Abraham Lincoln, age 28 Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents in historic United States. Lincoln is often ranked in both popular...
“I was able to sing eight bars without taking a breath. This gave the melody a flowing unbroken quality and that, if anything, was what made me sound different.” — Frank Sinatra Sinatra. The very word conjures an image of a man about town, a saloon singer, a mercurial man...
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” —Emily Dickinson Today, the Ides of March, will be witness to some of the most outstanding women that history has recorded. I came across a book published...
Yes, it is almost Springtime and we have traversed another cold Winter. Here are some bits and pieces for your enjoyment. • Bits: December 15, 1836 a horrified crowd gathered outside Blodget’s Hotel where the U.S. Patent Office shared space with the U.S. Post Office. The entirety of the Nation’s...
When Chicago was incorporated in 1837, residents could walk anywhere in the small frontier settlement. For much of the 19th Century, Chicago was the world’s fastest-growing city. Chicago was the place where the future was unfolding. The City was brash and bold and would see the electric trolley in 1890...
Consider the two British queens and their history. Queen Victoria lived to be 81 and Queen Elizabeth II lived to be 96. Victoria brought forth nine children and Elizabeth bore four children. Both loved their spouses totally and were torn asunder at their passing. Victoria was on the throne for...
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading.” —Jane Austen The author Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. Her father the Reverend George Austen was rector. Her elder sister, Cassandra, was her closest companion in a family of eight children. Her mother, Cassandra...
L’amore vince ogni cosa. Love always wins. -Virgil Olivia collected old maps. She lived vicariously through them and imagined her travels would find her in exotic lands, savoring the local teas and miniature chocolate cakes. She would imagine Casablanca and its bazaars; or Piccadilly Circus in London. She liked globes...
In his lifetime, Michelangelo was called Il Divino, or, “the Divine one.” He was born March 6, 1475 in the Republic of Florence. For several generations his family had been bankers in Florence, but the bank failed and his father, Ludovico, took a government post in Caprese. Several months after...
