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!