Sugata Mitra's Wish: Build a School in the Cloud

Do you know TED? TED Talks are enlightening, stimulating and challenging. I have learned something and have been touched by each one I have seen. After watching this one today, I realized that these presenters are telling stories, and do such a fantastic job of it! I thought, why not share them with you? It is always good to share the things we enjoy with others and this is what TED does.

Vintage Love Letter From Japan

My great Uncle Mickey was a career US Merchant Marine. Born in 1914, he passed away in 1979 when I was eighteen years old. He lived the last five years or so of his life with my grandmother, his sister. Cleaning out my grandmother's house a few years ago, I found this letter among his belongings.

 

It reads as follows:

                                                                                                                                       Shiguko

                                                                                                                                       Kobe 6 Jan. 1954

My Dearest Mike: 

     I am sure that you are fine in these days I have been in bed since then.  I am too lonesome and am hoping that you would be back to Kobe again.  My Dearest Mike, I never can forget you.  I am very glad to have spent with you for 4 days and I hope you will be back to Kobe again and let us have more good time again. You made me happy surely. Ever since I saw you I have not been forgetting you and you are always in my mind and I am lament and blue as I cannot see you again.  I am alone and you are not with me to-gether. I am feeling like I am walking around the dark high way alone. I could hardly forget your name and ask moon we parted with each other after having seen each other. I am painful as we are separated but I will be loving you from the bottom of my heart. My Dearest Mike, my love for you would not be changed forever. Mike you was really good to me. You bought me a lot of things for me and I never can forget you for the rest of my life. I dream of you every night and not even a single minute passed without thinking of you.

     Well, my dearest I should like to send you more long letters, but I have nothing to tell you so let me close for now hoping you would take good care of yourself and would always be happy and lucky in the world.

   I will send you my profoundest love and a lots of sweet kisses. 

                                                                      xxxxxxxx

                                                                          xxxxxxxxx

                                                                      from your Shiguko

                                                                                                                                                             

PS you will please tell your friend hello and the Mamasan of Star Bar is wishing to send her best regards to your friends.

The photo above was not with the letter but with other photos. Is it Shiguko? On it is written "to Mike, My Love". Or is Shiguko one of these other lovely ladies? I guess I'll never know.

Uncle Mickey and a Geisha 

front and back of card

"Bohemia"

As a follow-up to the previous post, here is a light-hearted or romantic view of what it meant to be a Bohemian.

"To take the world as one finds it, the bad with the good, making the best of the present moment—to laugh at Fortune alike whether she be generous or unkind—to spend freely when one has money, and to hope gaily when one has none—to fleet the time carelessly, living for love and art—this is the temper and spirit of the modern Bohemian in his outward and visible aspect. It is a light and graceful philosophy, but it is the Gospel of the Moment, this exoteric phase of the Bohemian religion; and if, in some noble natures, it rises to a bold simplicity and naturalness, it may also lend its butterfly precepts to some very pretty vices and lovable faults, for in Bohemia one may find almost every sin save that of Hypocrisy. ...
His faults are more commonly those of self-indulgence, thoughtlessness, vanity and procrastination, and these usually go hand-in-hand with generosity, love and charity; for it is not enough to be one’s self in Bohemia, one must allow others to be themselves, as well. ...
What, then, is it that makes this mystical empire of Bohemia unique, and what is the charm of its mental fairyland? It is this: there are no roads in all Bohemia! One must choose and find one’s own path, be one’s own self, live one’s own life." - Gelett Burgess
Source: Wikipedia 

I'd like to think I'm a little bit this way. Well, after all, it's in my blood!

Czech, Not Slovak

From the day I cared to know, until recently, whenever asked about my heritage or nationality, I would recite: English, German, Hungarian and Slovak.

One evening about six years ago, my grandmother was visiting for a few days. I had invited a friend, who had moved here from Slovakia over. Having a conversation about our common nationalities my grandmother mentioned that her mother came to America from Praha. My friend said, "Praha is Prague and Prague is in the Czech Republic. You must be Czech." My grandmother said, "oh no, we are Slovak. The Czech have such an elegant language. We don't speak that way." My friend laughed. I didn't think too much about it, figuring my great grandmother must have started her journey to America from Prague/Praha.

My grandmother corresponded with many relatives, including a cousin who lived in Prague. He is related to my great grandmother. Hmm. The above image is postage on one of his many letters.

Going through papers retrieved from my grandmother's home a few years back, I found this newspaper clipping about the passing of my great grandmother.

I thought it was cool that before it was called Czechoslovakia (interesting spelling in the newspaper, isn't it?) it was Bohemia. For some reason I had thought Bohemia was in Hungary. Anyway, again I didn't think much more about it.

Coming across that newspaper clipping again today, I decided to do some investigating. I have an old atlas I bought at a library book sale that dates back to World War II. Looking up Czechoslovakia I found this:

This confirms that my great grandmother was indeed born in the Czech Republic (Bohemia, Czechoslovakia). That means my grandmother and all her descendants are at least partly Czech. Her father was also supposedly from Slovakia, but I have yet to find documentation on that. My great grandparents moved to America separately and met here.

Does it really matter? Probably not, but I think it is an interesting story.

A side note about the Atlas:

  The original owner of this atlas did send away for the supplement and it is contained within the book. It shows new boundaries and new names for many countries, including the addition of Israel. A great find and a very valuable historical document!

Introducing My Newest Blog

If you are interested in flowers and gardens and would like to learn more about me, then please take a look at my newest blog:

http://hortusconclusus-se.blogspot.com/

I believe you will like it very much.

Sleepy Hollow Donates Fire Truck to Broad Channel

Not a story of my own, but a connection nonetheless and a wonderful story worth sharing.

According to a news report on WCBS 880 AM radio this morning, the Town of Sleepy Hollow, New York donated one of its fire trucks to the community of Broad Channel. Broad Channel, though a part of Queens County - one of New York City's five boroughs - has a volunteer fire department, as do communities in the Rockaways. Why this is so, I have no idea but it has always been that way. The town I grew up in, Howard Beach, just a few miles away, has a firehouse staffed with NYFD personnel.

When the flood waters of Jamaica Bay filled the streets of Broad Channel at high tide during Hurricane Sandy with eight feet of water, the fire house on Noel Road took it in along with all the houses and businesses in that community. The one fire truck that Broad Channel owns was ruined by the salt water. The story is that the village trustees of Sleepy Hollow voted to sell the fire truck to the Broad Channel fire department for one dollar. They delivered it loaded with supplies - sleeping bags, food, cleaning supplies and winter coats.

Sleepy Hollow was originally known as North Tarrytown. Washington Irving lived in the area and that town was supposedly the setting for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The town changed its name in 1996.

The connection for me is that I have lived in both Broad Channel and North Tarrytown. A small coincidence I know, but I think it's cool just the same!

link to news article

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! The title "Stories Matter" is something I came across two years ago while taking a Children's Literature course in college. Doing some research for a particular topic, I came across this phrase and it has stuck with me ever since. My mother, aunt and grandmother loved to tell their stories to us kids. I have wanted to write them down to preserve them for our future families for the longest time. And there are my own stories of childhood, teenage years, young adult, young motherhood, and on to record. Taking the time away from the daily living of life to reminisce is difficult to do. I do not intend to sit down and begin writing my memoirs or autobiography, but I do want to record certain stories as I remember them.

I focus on the present and I think about the future, but rarely, quite honestly, think about the past. Not until something happens, or a word is said, a particular song or sound, such as the call of a blue jay,is heard, a neighborhood familiar in my youth is mentioned, then memories come flooding back. Such has been the case with news of Hurricane Sandy and how it has caused so much damage to areas where I grew up and spent much time - Howard Beach, Broad Channel, the Rockaways, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Long Island. From here I will begin.