SPECIAL ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Table of Contents
Abraham Lincoln in the 21st Century by Joelle M. Doye
Titanic Romance by Janet Marie
Glimpse of the Past- Colonial Williamsburg
THAC- Response to Leonardo DiVinci
and Albert Einstein
Sea Dreams by Linda Griggs
Haiku by Linda Griggs
A Lost Soul by Kristen Price
The Final Curtain by Kristen Price
Untitled by Amanda Meek
Winds of Chance by Amanda Meek
Abraham Lincoln in the 21st Century by Joelle M. Doye
President Lincoln may have died on April 15, 1865, but his memory is still alive today. The Association of Lincoln Presenters is made up of roughly 50 members that include both individuals that represent Abraham and Mary Lincoln. These people spend whatever time they can visiting schools and other places trying to get others interested in history and Abraham Lincoln. I was not aware of this association until I attended the Mary Lincoln Ceremony in Springfield, IL on July 16. Three "Marys" were there representing her along with one "Abe" and a "Stephen Douglas." The event started at the Lincoln Tomb with a wreath laying ceremony and then moved to the Lincoln Home National Historic Site where one of the Marys dressed in costume and put on the best performance that I have ever seen of Mary. I was truly impressed and I am sure that Mary would have been as well.
For me, as I hope that it is for you as well, the importance of preserving history is very serious. When I look at my peers and I see a lack of interest it not only upsets me, but is scares me as well. The younger generation needs to have an understanding and a passion for where they came from, no matter where that is. The Association of Lincoln Presenters is doing a fine job of bringing that interest into schools and places where kids can view these wonderful people at a young age and perhaps fuel an interest that will last a lifetime. I am truly greatful to everyone that takes the time to make history come to life and all of us can increase our knowledge from these intriguing individuals.
Joelle M. Doye
jcurtin@mhtc.net
marylincolnfan@yahoo.com
Titanic Romance by Janet Marie
TITANIC ROMANCE - A TRUE STORY OF A COUPLE THAT LET "NOTHING ON EARTH COULD COME BETWEEN THEM"
If you fell in love with Jack and Rose's Titanic romance, here is one that really happened that is just as tragic. This is a true story of the couple who refused to be separated, Isidore and Ida Straus.
They were married for 41 years and had 6 children. When they were not together, they wrote to each other daily. For sometime, they even celebrated their different birthdays on the same day. They called each other "my darling mama" and "my darling papa". Isidore and Ida Straus were a rich couple from New York. Isidore was the owner of the Macy's department store and a well known philantropist. They sailed aboard Titanic after a holiday on the French Riveria. Little did they know that they were headed on their last journey together at the time.
The couple was on deck that fateful night in April when both were offered seats in a lifeboat. Mrs. Straus turned down a seat because she refused to be separated from Isidore. Ida said, "I will not be separated from my husband." Isidore was offered a seat due to his age but turned down because he did not want to go before any other women and children. Mrs. Straus gave her fur coat to her maid, Ellen Bird, as she took a seat in the boat. The couple was last seen in an embrace on deck.
The couple was given a huge memorial service in New York attended by 6,000 people. A permanent memorial remains there to this day. It has engraved on it: "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it." If you watch the sequences in James Cameron's TITANIC, you will see an old couple on a bed with water swirling under them. The couple is the Strauses, and a scene where the couple refuses seats in the lifeboats was cut from the film. I truly believe Cameron used the Strauses as one of his inspirations for Jack and Rose's love story. Their "hearts will go on and on"!!
May today there be peace within you.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you're meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the
Love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing that you are a child of God.
Let His presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul
the freedom to sing, dance, and to bask in the sun.
It is there for each and every one of you.
~Unknown
A place in Virginia, far from most large cities, lies a city forever stuck in the 18th century. Driving through the streets, the signs begin to give the feeling a time of long ago. Walking from the parking lot into this dusty town, many people are seen walking the streets- in period clothing from the 1770s. Yes, Colonial Williamsburg. Where the buildings have been restored to their original glory. Everywhere you walked, you pass history and hear dialogue from the Revolutionary War.
I was personally inspired by this new and interesting time period. Of course you hear about the Revolutionary War when you are a child. George Washington and other timeless figures seem too unreal to imagine. But if you take yourself out of the 21st century and place yourself in the 18th century, you feel as if you are really there. There are many programs to view and even participate in. Parades, Drum and Fife Corps, Colonial Shops, and even Costume Rental keep the day interesting. Each day is set in a different day from the period of 1775-1776. People talk to you of the coming war and share their opinions on England.
To read biographies and gain information on tickets and programs,
see Colonial Williamsburg On the Web.
(The Humorous Advice Column)
PREVIOUS LETTER:
Dear THAC,
I have a HUGE problem. I'm 15 and I am a really good artist, and I really like art. Problem is, everyone expects me to be a
painter and only a painter. I want to be an painter, but I'd also like to be an inventor, a sculptor and a philosopher. How can I
be all these things at once when I'm only supposed to be a painter? Worse still, no one thinks I'm any good at anything but
painting. I think I have some good ideas if they'd just LISTEN to me. What can I do?
Regards,
Leo Da Vinci.
~*~*~*~
RESPONSE:
Dear Leo,
Wow you *are* an ambitious lad. My advice is that you are trying to take on
too many things at once at such a young age. You're 15!! Most kids your age
can't even get out of bed and to school on time without being told. I think
you put way too much pressure on yourself. You have a long life ahead of
you to paint, sculpt, invent and be a philosopher. After all...was Rome
built in a day??? No...it took YEARS upon YEARS. Just wait dear lad and
I'm sure that everything will work itself out. But be patient!!
~*~*~*~
PREVIOUS LETTER:
Dear THAC,
I've got a HUGE problem. I'm in 7th grade, and my teachers and, well,
EVERYONE thinks I'm a trouble maker and that I don't apply myself. This
is
not true, I just think the work is WAY to easy. Stuff I've known for
ages.
But when I ask for harder work the teacher yells at me and says I'm just
a
lousy trouble maker. But I'm not! Just bored and lonley. No one wants to
talk to me because I like to talk about complicated things, like physics
and
philosiphy and so forth. What can I do?
Regards,
Albert Einstein.
~*~*~*~
RESPONSE:
Dear Albert,
Sounds like you're in a tough situation. Here's my advice. Challenge your
teacher to a match of wits in front of the entire class. It would be
amusing...to say the least. Who knows? Your teacher might even learn
something from it!
As for being bored and lonely...well not everyone is interested in physics
and philosophy. Immerse yourself in things that other kids your age do!
Play Nintendo! Go skateboarding and eat cream puffs untiil your stomach
bursts! You have your entire life to talk about physics and philosophy but
your childhood doesn't last forever! Go have fun! enjoy life! my final
advice to you: worry about physics in physics class and prove to your
teacher that you're brilliant and you're even smarter than them! Which I'm
sure would endear some others to you! But most importantly Albert...have
fun!!! You're an old man at twelve! Enjoy your youth!
~~*~~
Sea Dreams by Linda Griggs
Cerulean nights give way
to crimson dawns
as sandpipers gather
along the shoreline.
Chasing their breakfast
into wet holes in the sand,
chirruping victory
to their neighbors.
Boisterous children
disturb their morning ritual
and a tornado of wings
whip sand clouds in the salt air.
Curly golden heads
bob down to waters edge,
and visions of sand castles
gleam in mind’s eye.
Miniature architects pour
their dreams from buckets,
building fantasy fortresses
which run out with the tide.
Frail structures reflecting
frail dreams simmering under
summer sky. Fleeting...
disappearing with afternoon naps.
~~*~~
Haiku by Linda Griggs
Soft summer breezes
Caress radiant faces.
Roses bloom on cheeks.
~~*~~
A Lost Soul by Kristen Price
A lost soul,
Looking,
Seeking,
Never finding,
Trapped inside myself,
Unable to brake away,
Hopelessly fighting to free,
Myself trapped inside me,
I scream but I’m not heard,
I kick but I’m not felt,
I struggle to understand,
Who I really am,
Why can’t I be myself?
Why can’t I be free?
Why am I forced?
To betray no one but me.
~~*~~
The Final Curtain by Kristen Price
Sometimes you feel,
Like you can’t go on,
You’ve got a raw deal,
And everything goes wrong.
Sure, life doesn’t always go right,
That’s for certain,
But you must still stay and fight,
Until the final curtain.
You’ve got to be strong enough,
To wipe away you’re tears,
And I know it’s tough,
To fight away you’re fears.
But you can do it,
If you can just believe,
You’ll get through it,
You will achieve.
~~*~~
Untitled by Amanda Meek
The sun peaks and goes away
behind an army of clouds
while I peacefully travel through mountains
and trek through valleys.
I sit a moment to admire the hills
so elegantly laid out before me
that stretch towards the horizon.
Each time I see the sky,
I cannot help but think that you,
my dear sweetheart,
share the same sunshine,
the odd shaped clouds,
and, somehow, part of my world
~~*~~
Winds of Chance by Amanda Meek
I find myself alone again
knowing, the entire time, that I would return.
Yet I did not expect the answer when it came.
I threw my heart into the winds of chance
hoping perhaps a young man may own it...
And for awhile, he did.
But his heart was not mine.
My heart shattered in the cold breezes.
Through this heartbreak, I grow stronger.
And I shall continue throwing my hear
until the breezes blow no more.
~~*~~
Copyright by respective artists, 2000.
