"The test of a first-rate intelligence...."

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

~ F.  Scott Fitzgerald

"...it keeps the spirit moving."

“Music is one of those things that is constantly going in my head all the time.

It's sort of like the evolution and creation of doing food, or my philosophy about wine.

It's always beating in my head, so it keeps the spirit moving.”

~ Emeril Lagasse

Strong Women

They were strong women then when people disapproved

I learned that!  I loved that!

They had no fear it seemed to me

And I knew their strength, I felt their hearts

I’m a strong woman now and have had no other choice

Been through Hell, that's for sure!

But I know what I have to do

Because they are all with me, to tell the honest truth

So if you want to see where my heart is

Go there, to the strong women in my life

They were then what I’ve become

Fearless, good-hearted and strong

Thank you to the women in my life who have made a difference and probably never knew.
And thanks to CP for noticing some words!

“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

~ “What a Wonderful World” artist Louis Armstrong,

written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss

Grateful for the Opportunity

Connecting on a higher plane these days...at some level, always have.  So many words have fallen into place without effort or plan.  They are me, though, and it seems that they speak to you.  If my words make one person look at something from another's perspective, touch the soul of another, or simply bring a smile to an otherwise unremarkable day, that is a success.  I am grateful for the opportunity.

Much More To Do

Waiting for life to kick in and take its direction.  Taking so long - healing time - much needed and cherished.  Reality has heavily set in but ready to push through the challenges to get on with it.  There is much more to discover.  Much more to do.

"...I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.”

“You philosophers are lucky men. You write on paper and paper is patient. Unfortunate Empress that I am, I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.”

~Catherine the Great

"The reason you want every single thing that you want...."

"The reason you want every single thing that you want, is because you think you will feel really good when you get there. But, if you don't feel really good on your way to there, you can't get there. You have to be satisfied with what-is while you're reaching for more."

~ Abraham

“Forests, lakes, and rivers...."

“Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man.”  ~ Orison Swett Marden

"...healing a broken heart.”

Our bodies heal broken bones by forming a bone scar that makes that point stronger than it ever was.  It’s painful, but the pain subsides.  What about a broken heart?

In the process of healing a broken bone, “it must be reset and then be protected in a cast to allow the body's automatic and natural healing processes to occur.  If the bone is not reset straight, then it will grow back crooked.  If it is not given enough time to rest, protected in a cast, it will remain weak.  Likewise, if the protective cast is never taken off, the bone will never fully become strong again. Similar warnings apply to the process of healing a broken heart.”  ~John Gray in Mars and Venus Starting Over

"No one ever talks about the moment...."

“No one ever talks about the moment you found that you were white.

Or the moment you found out you were black. That's a profound revelation.

The minute you find that out, something happens. You have to renegotiate everything.”

~ Toni Morrison

I remember very well the day I realized I was white.  I grew up in a suburb of New Haven, Connecticut in the 1960’s when school bussing became an experiment in society equalization.  Sometime during first, second or third grade, the school year began with “the” busses pulling in to my elementary school driveway, filled with little kids.  I remember looking at their petrified little faces and remember everyone stopping to watch as they piled out.  There seemed to be many extra parents hanging around that day.  I remember watching the principal and the administration scurrying around to make sure they were welcomed.  The adults seemed to be acting strangely in my memory.

I am told that the bussing continued for a few years.  A friend reminded me that the upper grade kids did experience some conflicts during recess.  I honestly don’t remember any issues on the lower grades’ playground, but I don’t recall a ton of intermingling.  I remember well, though, that I did not understand why these poor kids were at our school.  And why anyone thought it was a good idea for them to be bussed a good 30-45 minutes into little Cheshire, Connecticut.  Every morning when I saw the busses, I thought about how tired they must be.  What I knew for sure is that I was different than them.  Maybe they were special.  Maybe we were lucky.  There was talk of some of us being bussed to their school in New Haven, apparently.  That never happened.  Either way, they were black and we, I learned, were white.

What it all meant then, I can barely comprehend in retrospect.  As a witness to this tiny piece of history, I will never forget their scared little faces and my thoughts about the absurdity of school bussing.  I wish I could speak with them now…. 

Stock photo featuring Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte and Charlton Heston at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC

Gazing at the Ocean

Gazing at the ocean, finding peace outdoors

Brings hope and joy to a soul feeling less inside

Lost in the enormity, feeling very small

The magnitude of human love is all that can compare

Happy (?) Equal Pay Day!

I grew up during the time of the second wave of the Women’s Movement.  The campaigns of the early 1960’s through the 1980’s focused on cultural and political inequalities, critical was the issue of discrimination.  From first-hand experience, I deeply comprehended the transformation of our society through the differences within my own family.  My grandmother’s generation was clearly that of the housewife, the working women situational.  My mother’s generation changed before my eyes, a mix of housewives and housewives turned working women.  By the time my own generation was graduating from high school, the path toward the work world was paved with our fantasies of equality.   All these years later, obviously, many things have changed for women.  Growing up, I could never have imagined that inequality would still exist in any form.  Yet, it does.

Today is Equal Pay Day which is “the day when the typical woman’s wages catch up to those her male counterpart was paid the previous year.” [1]   “American women who work full time, year round are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. This gap in earnings translates into $10,784 less per year in median earnings, leaving women and their families shortchanged. The wage gap is even more substantial when race and gender are considered together, with African-American women making only 62 cents, and Hispanic women only 54 cents, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. Although enforcement of the Equal Pay Act as well as other civil rights laws has helped to narrow the wage gap over time, it is critical for women and their families that the significant pay disparities that remain are addressed.” [2]

Again, my first-hand experience has offered me opportunities to witness this disparity from a variety of perspectives.  In direct payroll positions in various businesses, the disparity is apparent.  Even more distinct, however, is the fact that salaries for those positions traditionally filled by women continue to be much lower than those traditionally filled by men, although these position are vital to business.  I have witnessed the dishonest methods of those frustrated by this fact.  As a supervisor, I have had to fight to raise the pay scale of my employees.  Being a single mother, I have lived with the consequences of the wage gap.  Our next generation has, as well. 

Within these experiences, I have witnessed some improvement and have held hope that my daughter’s generation would benefit from a further recognition of women in our society.  More importantly, I held hope that we would value equality of all people.  Now I must look to the generation of my grandchildren, knowing that each successive generation will make strides.  Idealistic?  Perhaps.  But if you find yourself in a position to make a difference in the wage gap, make the effort.  Our society will be better off in the end.

1. http://www.nwlc.org/         

2. http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/womenunfairpayfactsheet.pdf        

For more information about the societal effects of the wage gap on society, please go to http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/womenunfairpayfactsheet.pdf

Stock photo