Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts

Friday, December 19, 2008

Those Lovely Intangibles


Fred Gailey: Look Doris, someday you're going to find that your
way of facing this realistic world just doesn't work. And when you do,
don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll discover those are the
only things that are worthwhile.

Later on in the film...

Doris: Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don't
you see? It's not just Kris that's on trial, it's everything he stands for.
It's kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles.
.
from Miracle on 34th Street, 1947

Monday, June 2, 2008

Tree Huggers



Last week, Eleanor from Thatchwick Cottage was mourning the
loss of a noble tree. And Blog Princess G at Food Film Fiction has a
lovely new photo of herself with a tree on her sidebar with the
caption "shameless tree hugger". I come from a whole family of tree
huggers. Most likely, it is sap we have coursing through our veins,
instead of blood. We have never met a tree we did not like. This
photo, is of a very special old tree. It was taken in August 2005 of my
aunt, uncles, oak tree and I at the old family homestead farm in
Howard Co., Indiana. The tree in the picture is the same one in the
vintage photo of our grandmother/great-grandmother Ida Belle
(left) and her friend Lois Allen circa 1920's.

As the poet said, 'Only God can make a tree,' probably
because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on.
Woody Allen

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Brave Defender of His Country's Rights

Capt. Robert "Robin" Hanna, my sixth Great-Grandfather, defended
our country in the American Revolution. Born in Prince Edward Co.,
Virginia, December 10, 1744, he attended William and Mary College
and had a close and enduring friendship with Thomas Jefferson.
Capt. Hanna represented Little River District, South Carolina in the
Fifth General Assembly (1783-1784). He was also a deputy surveyor
for the surveyor general and surveyed a great deal of acreage on the
North and South Carolina border.

His tombstone, Sims Cemetery, Franklin Co, IN, inscription reads:

In Memory of
ROBERT HANNA
Was born Decr 10th 1744
And departed this life
The 24th of January 1821
He was A brave defender
Of his Country's Rights
And lived and died an honest Man


Each man must for himself alone decide what is right
and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which
isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide
against your conviction is to be an unqualified and
excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country,
let men label you as they may.
~Mark Twain

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Laundry and Lassie


"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy,

even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."
E. B. White

My youngest was home for Easter weekend from college. It is nice
that he is only a few hours away and can drive home about every
three or four weeks, when he completely runs out of clean clothes!
So, every month or so, I wash every single piece of clothing he owns,
plus a few items belonging to his roommate, that are mixed in. He
always says, "Mom, you don't have to do my laundry for me!!" But I
tell him I like to. Besides, I do have a new state of the art washer and
dryer that I would have loved to have had, back when I had a
housefull! Unfortunately, those large appliances last just long enough
to raise a family, then finally bite the dust when they are all grown and
gone. We suffered from staggering sticker shock when our washer
died last year. Because they were so pricey, we purchased the
washer first and bought the matching dryer a few months later. They
were the odd couple; a buff husband and a frumpy middle aged wife,
standing side by side in my laundry cupboard. When, finally, I had both
sleek black models, they were so huge and modern they reminded me
of sporty new cars. My humble laundry area had become a small
garage! Most of my "motherly chores" are over now and I feel a twinge
of nostalgia which fuels me to grasp onto the few small things I can do
for my kids. It seems like just yesterday, that my little buddy was
helping me with the laundry on a regular basis, while his brother and
sister were at school. Afterwards, we would curl up on the couch
with some graham crackers and watch old Lassie episodes on TV.
Ah, those days are gone too soon!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

I Don't Know. It's a Mystery!

I follow the scent of falling rain
And head for the place where it is darkest
I follow the lightning
And draw near to the place where it strikes.

--Navajo Chant

As you can probably tell, I have been in an "Old West" idiom lately.
After I saw the movie There Will Be Blood, and started imagining
the life of my ancestors in Albuquerque, I've been spellbound by the
American West. Not too long ago, there was an excellent biography
about Kit Carson on PBS's American Experience. Of course, after
watching the program, I had to "Wiki" him to read more. I was
surprised to read that Carson was the friend of a trapper, who had
the surname, was from the same time period and area in old Missouri
(Missour-ah for all you natives out there) that my husband's ancestors
are from. So I checked out the book Blood and Thunder, by Hampton
Sides from our library for further reading. I was expecting a dry,
historical account and thought I might pick some tidbits from the
index. And was I pleasantly surprised!! I couldn't put it down. Sides
is a fabulous writer, who dramatically and vividly swept me back into
the magnificent American West. He also includes a very extensive
section of footnotes and bibliography. I highly recommend this
extraordinary book, especially if you are in any way interested in
American history or the Old West. It truly fit the bill for my thirst for
this particular time period. And I am excited to say, that I did get a
few genealogical leads to further my research on WT's mysterious and
evasive Scotch Irish ancestors!
***unidentified photo from extended family collection

Friday, March 14, 2008

Quotes for Today


"You cannot find peace by avoiding life."

"Arrange whatever pieces come your way."

Virginia Woolf