Love this! We all unearth treasures at some points. Mrs. Douglas MacArthur (yeah, that one) writing a thank-you (hand-written) to my grandmother thanking her for the care she and her husband received while spending quiet time at the estate for which my grandparents were caretakers. My congratulations letter from Bobby Kennedy on my Regents scholarship (but this went to everyone in New York State that got a Regents scholarship, and it was stamped...but still...). I have saved so many articles, etc. since I was in the hospital with tonsillitis when I was 8 (clipped by my parents). When Dean became really ill I went through all our photos and with the help of Shutterfly put together memory books of and for us - for the days when neither of us could remember. I need to do that for my own stuff now - my foster son would like that. You should take some of those priceless items you unearth, scan them, and then make a few books. That way they're in front of you any time you want to remember. All those decaying piece of paper finally preserved for viewing any time. (Hillary was so right - and as much as I was and am a Bernie fan, I fought for him to the end, and then worked for Hillary - and watched SNL the weekend after the election and cried with Kate McKinnon. She is a stateswoman and should be used these days to promote peace and understanding...but she sure has earned a rest. Imagine the world now if Al Gore and then Hillary had been elected.........
Wow, Linda, such memories! And you put me to shame. I have stuff all over the place and the only time it sees the light of day is if I just happen to come across it, probably looking for something else.
I thought my new, big file cabinet would do it, but it requires that I actually file stuff in it! I still have a lot of work to do. Thanks for the suggestions. They're perfect!
PPS - forgot to tell you I have a picture on me sitting on General MacArthur's lap when he visited the estate...as Mastercard would say,Priceless! Now I have ti find it.....
As a child, I wrote to President Jimmy Carter to let him know I was coming to DC on vacation and that I'd like to visit him. I received a form response (which I still have). Sadly, we weren't able to get a White House tour, so I was never able to even get close. Decades later, Jimmy called my sister personally to thank her for a big donation to The Carter Center. She was practically speechless. LOL
I've always supported Hillary but, I'll admit, not always ardently. One of my politically astute friends attended rallies for both Barack and Hillary and came away saying she had way more substance. I voted for her in the 2008 primary. I literally danced through my office building telling all who would listen that I'd just voted for a woman for president. The expressions on the good ole boys who wanted to be polite were priceless. I'd NEVER do that now! However, despite my glee, I suspected that (just like suffrage) a black man would gain the presidency before a woman.
In 2016, I was torn. I've always been a fan of Bernie's and even attended a rally of his in Dallas when his campaign was just getting started. But then I started reading Hillary's Wikipedia page and I was ashamed of my feminist self. She's the real deal, fighting for women's rights since she was in college. Hillary has had it tough. After that, I was a true believer and even joined Pantsuit Nation, a FB group of Hillary supporters. At that time (if this tells you anything), it was supposed to be a "secret" group because many couldn't swear their allegiance publicly. But people told stories of meeting her, going to her rallies, and of wonderful things she's done in her long career. I was convinced that not only were we going to have our first woman president but she'd also be a feminist. The fall back to earth was very, very hard.
During those first few months, I tried to write her a letter of support. But the words wouldn't come because I was so incredibly upset. I started trying to read her book, What Happened, on a plane flight and had to stop because I was crying. I still haven't read it. I suspected all along that they cheated (they did) but it was a true wakeup call to the state of gender relations in the U.S.
I'd thought, I'd hoped, we were further along than we are. After the 2016 election, it was crystal clear how wrong I'd been. But 2016 was a rallying cry. I did an informal survey of women about what Hillary's "loss" meant to them. It was interesting. Some got divorced. Some became activists. Of course, my sample was biased. I'd love to see a true survey of a broad array of liberal women. I don't care about the opinions of the conservative ones. After the 2016 election, when I was running in parks, I'd see white women and I'd think, "Did you sell us out, sister?" Sadly, given where I live, the answer was probably yes.
I too wish we knew what you said in your letter. I'm sure it was well-written and well thought out. Clearly, it provided encouragement in a difficult time. Thank you for doing that. I wish I'd thought of it.
Jimmy Carter made the presidency more human. His brand of kindness was never really appreciated until long after he'd left.
My nephew Jody rescued his dog from a rushing river and it made the small-town newspaper. He was around nine and he hated his name, so my sister-in-law wrote to Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, sent him the clipping, and asked him if he could write a few words of encouragement to another Jody. He did more than that. He invited the whole family to the White House, where they met Jimmy and Roslyn, and they made a big deal over what a great name the two of them had. So special.
I think often of my own misreading of Hillary Clinton and I'm seeing much the same thing happening to Kamala Harris. She's doing a bang-up job as Veep and gets little or no credit for it. In fact, too many Democrats are already looking for someone else to run in 2024. I don't know how to stop that kind of deliberate disinformation, but it does women no good to fall for it.
Everyone seems to love powerful women...until they're ambitious. Hillary was feted as Secretary of State but when she wanted to become president? Suddenly people didn't like her. The same thing is happening to Kamala. The press doesn't even want to publicize what an amazing job she's doing because (gasp!) she might want to run for president someday. We can't have that!
Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter are 2 amazing human beings.
Love this! We all unearth treasures at some points. Mrs. Douglas MacArthur (yeah, that one) writing a thank-you (hand-written) to my grandmother thanking her for the care she and her husband received while spending quiet time at the estate for which my grandparents were caretakers. My congratulations letter from Bobby Kennedy on my Regents scholarship (but this went to everyone in New York State that got a Regents scholarship, and it was stamped...but still...). I have saved so many articles, etc. since I was in the hospital with tonsillitis when I was 8 (clipped by my parents). When Dean became really ill I went through all our photos and with the help of Shutterfly put together memory books of and for us - for the days when neither of us could remember. I need to do that for my own stuff now - my foster son would like that. You should take some of those priceless items you unearth, scan them, and then make a few books. That way they're in front of you any time you want to remember. All those decaying piece of paper finally preserved for viewing any time. (Hillary was so right - and as much as I was and am a Bernie fan, I fought for him to the end, and then worked for Hillary - and watched SNL the weekend after the election and cried with Kate McKinnon. She is a stateswoman and should be used these days to promote peace and understanding...but she sure has earned a rest. Imagine the world now if Al Gore and then Hillary had been elected.........
Wow, Linda, such memories! And you put me to shame. I have stuff all over the place and the only time it sees the light of day is if I just happen to come across it, probably looking for something else.
I thought my new, big file cabinet would do it, but it requires that I actually file stuff in it! I still have a lot of work to do. Thanks for the suggestions. They're perfect!
Think about it as a "winter" project...less daylight, more memories to keep you warm, and progress on the cleaning front....
Okay... Except in my case I need to open windows to let the dust out. 😂
Dust bunnies shall not rule our domains....
That's what I keep telling them.
PPS - forgot to tell you I have a picture on me sitting on General MacArthur's lap when he visited the estate...as Mastercard would say,Priceless! Now I have ti find it.....
What?? And you're just now mentioning it? You're as bad as I am!
Cool!
As a child, I wrote to President Jimmy Carter to let him know I was coming to DC on vacation and that I'd like to visit him. I received a form response (which I still have). Sadly, we weren't able to get a White House tour, so I was never able to even get close. Decades later, Jimmy called my sister personally to thank her for a big donation to The Carter Center. She was practically speechless. LOL
I've always supported Hillary but, I'll admit, not always ardently. One of my politically astute friends attended rallies for both Barack and Hillary and came away saying she had way more substance. I voted for her in the 2008 primary. I literally danced through my office building telling all who would listen that I'd just voted for a woman for president. The expressions on the good ole boys who wanted to be polite were priceless. I'd NEVER do that now! However, despite my glee, I suspected that (just like suffrage) a black man would gain the presidency before a woman.
In 2016, I was torn. I've always been a fan of Bernie's and even attended a rally of his in Dallas when his campaign was just getting started. But then I started reading Hillary's Wikipedia page and I was ashamed of my feminist self. She's the real deal, fighting for women's rights since she was in college. Hillary has had it tough. After that, I was a true believer and even joined Pantsuit Nation, a FB group of Hillary supporters. At that time (if this tells you anything), it was supposed to be a "secret" group because many couldn't swear their allegiance publicly. But people told stories of meeting her, going to her rallies, and of wonderful things she's done in her long career. I was convinced that not only were we going to have our first woman president but she'd also be a feminist. The fall back to earth was very, very hard.
During those first few months, I tried to write her a letter of support. But the words wouldn't come because I was so incredibly upset. I started trying to read her book, What Happened, on a plane flight and had to stop because I was crying. I still haven't read it. I suspected all along that they cheated (they did) but it was a true wakeup call to the state of gender relations in the U.S.
I'd thought, I'd hoped, we were further along than we are. After the 2016 election, it was crystal clear how wrong I'd been. But 2016 was a rallying cry. I did an informal survey of women about what Hillary's "loss" meant to them. It was interesting. Some got divorced. Some became activists. Of course, my sample was biased. I'd love to see a true survey of a broad array of liberal women. I don't care about the opinions of the conservative ones. After the 2016 election, when I was running in parks, I'd see white women and I'd think, "Did you sell us out, sister?" Sadly, given where I live, the answer was probably yes.
I too wish we knew what you said in your letter. I'm sure it was well-written and well thought out. Clearly, it provided encouragement in a difficult time. Thank you for doing that. I wish I'd thought of it.
Jimmy Carter made the presidency more human. His brand of kindness was never really appreciated until long after he'd left.
My nephew Jody rescued his dog from a rushing river and it made the small-town newspaper. He was around nine and he hated his name, so my sister-in-law wrote to Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, sent him the clipping, and asked him if he could write a few words of encouragement to another Jody. He did more than that. He invited the whole family to the White House, where they met Jimmy and Roslyn, and they made a big deal over what a great name the two of them had. So special.
I think often of my own misreading of Hillary Clinton and I'm seeing much the same thing happening to Kamala Harris. She's doing a bang-up job as Veep and gets little or no credit for it. In fact, too many Democrats are already looking for someone else to run in 2024. I don't know how to stop that kind of deliberate disinformation, but it does women no good to fall for it.
Everyone seems to love powerful women...until they're ambitious. Hillary was feted as Secretary of State but when she wanted to become president? Suddenly people didn't like her. The same thing is happening to Kamala. The press doesn't even want to publicize what an amazing job she's doing because (gasp!) she might want to run for president someday. We can't have that!
Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter are 2 amazing human beings.