Heart to Heart

I started teaching at Bow High School in the fall of 2009 and Bob was one of the first people I met.
He is the AV and tech guy, so I knew we'd be working together when it came time for my concerts. We got along right from the start and often hung out in my office, just chatting and laughing. He has a great sense of humor and we just clicked, though at that time I was thinking of him as just a friend. The more time we spent together, the more we just liked hanging out. By mid-October I found myself making excuses to go to his office and finding ways that I could see him throughout the day. At that point I realized that I really liked him and I thought he might like me too, but I wasn't sure. He was actually going in for open heart surgery at the beginning of November and he decided to take a leap and ask me out 2 days before his surgery. We went out to dinner and talked for hours. He told me how much he liked me and how he had liked me for months. He had been asking around to other teachers at school to find out if I was married or if I had a boyfriend - he was very relieved when he found out neither was true. His surgery was a huge success and hearing his voice when he called me from the hospital was the best thing I've ever heard. I always tell him that they opened up his heart so I could climb in. We got engaged at the end of March and our wedding is October 2, 2010 in New Hampshire.

Jon Stewart and Tracey McShane

Jon Stewart and Tracey McShane

 

In order to maintain a balanced point of view in today's volatile political climate, I relied on two major news sources; the thoughtful :) conservative pieces presented by Steven Colbert, and the more comfortable (to me) liberal point of view presented by Jon Stewart in The Daily Show.

Despite the fact that Jon Stewart readily recognizes his show is meant to be satire and comedy, The Daily Show has received 16 Emmy awards, and has been nominated for various news and journalism awards.  His intelligence and wit, along with his passion for truth results in "fake news" which often is presented with more authenticity than the "news" found on major networks.

Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec

Transitions can be difficult, and it seems as though Roger Federer is going through one now.

To everyone's surprise he's had a rough Grand Slam season, exiting in the semi-finals in the Australian Open in January, the quarter-finals in the French Open in early June, and the 2nd round at Wimbledon to a player ranked 116th.

Despite everyone's hope for a Federer miracle, he lost in straight sets to Tommy Robrado of Spain at the U.S. Open just days ago.

"I've definitely got to go back to work and come back stronger," Federer stated in a post match interview.
"Get rid of this loss now as quick as I can, forget about it, because that's not how I want to play from here on, I want to play better. I know I can."

Always in his corner giving him support, love, and advice is his devoted family.

Federer was born in Binnington, Switzerland, a small area near Basel. He credits his amazing tennis skills to the variety of sports he played growing up: badminton, cricket, and basketball.

He is an avid cricket fan, and knows that he is interested "whenever a ball is involved."

Apparently that interest extends into his personal life. In 2000, while competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he met and fell in love with fellow Swiss teammate, Mirka Vavrinec.


 After suffering from a foot injury in 2002, Mirka retired from tennis and took on the role of Federer's personal relations manager.

The two were married in a small ceremony near Basel on April 11,2009, and on July 23rd 2009 Mirka gave birth to identical twins, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.

Big Win for Federer!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Federer

Photo Okayed - Matchmaking with a Happily Ever After Ending

One day a proposal came to my father from the prospective suitable boy's maternal uncle.  Our family was known to them.  After the initial proposal, the uncle and the prospective boy's father came to discuss the proposal with my father one evening.  Maa made necessary preparations to receive the important guests.

During the meeting the suitability of the boy was discussed which included his education, which was pretty impressive, his profession and family.   The uncle then asked baba about me.  Both seemed to be satisfied and agreed to progress.  Photographs were exchanged.  The boy's photo was shown to me and my opinion was sought.  I saw the face of a reasonably personable young man and decided he would do. I guess the young man also thought the same, for it was rumored his telegram to his parents read 'Photo Okayed'. 

Henry Ford The Great Believer

Although Henry Ford and Clara Bryant grew up within eight miles of each other, they first met at a New Year's Eve Ball when Clara was 18. They spoke for only a few minutes, but Henry Ford would always recollect that he knew Clara was the girl for him right away. Henry Ford, who loved dancing, attended many more dances that season, but it was nearly a year before he saw Clara again. The young couple soon became engaged and were married on April 11,1888, the bride's twenty second birthday.

Henry Ford often referred to his wife as his great believer. Clara always showed faith and confidence through all the years of hard work and challenges.

Her support was rewarded.  After living in a total of ten rental homes, Henry's dream of success finally came true. They bought 2,000 acres along the Rouge River in Dearborn, and Fair Lane, the home where Clara and Henry would live the rest of their lives, was constructed.

In Dearborn, Clara and Henry would entertain friends and family at Fair Lane. The Fords also continued to enjoy dancing; Henry saw to it that Fair Lane had a large dance floor and that it was regularly used.

In a 1938 issue of The New York Times Magazine, Henry Ford was quoted as saying, "The greatest day of my life was the day I married Mrs. Ford."  Apparently Henry Ford was a great believer,too.

http://corporate.ford.com/news-center/press-releases-detail/651-clara-ford

Sam Hunt and Hannah Lee Fowler

Sam Hunt, most likely, met Hannah Lee Fowler when he was playing football at the University of Alabama.
The couple dated for nearly a decade, and their many ups and downs are well known to Hunt's fans, as they are beautifully described in the lyrics of the songs making up Montevallo, his debut studio album.

Hunt's compositions describe falling in love, breaking up and experiencing the agony of nearly losing his long time love. When you listen to songs like "Leave the Night On" to "Make You Miss Me", you almost live the couples' initial whirlwind romance to tragic parting of ways. "Drinkin Too Much" is almost too painful to listen to. In it Sam Hunt displays brutal honesty as he blames himself completely for breaking apart any love the couple was managing to salvage together at that point.

The good news is Hunt's honesty devotion, total respect  and absolute love finally won Hannah Lee over in the end.
I'm sure it took persistence, change, a tough talk with her family, with whom she is very close, and an ability to show Hannah Lee that Sam Hunt was here to stay.

The couple was married in Hunt's hometown of Georgia in 2017. Hunt credits Fowler with making him the successful artist he is today. He shares his compositions with her, seeks her advice and feels that she has made him better able to connect to a female audience by the things she has taught him.

Go Hannah!

 Oh, and she is also a nurse...out there helping humanity.

I love this couple and wish them all the best and also hope that they continue to have a very positive effect on the world of country music.

George and Martha

 

George Washington was about to emerge a hero from the French and Indian War when he proposed to Martha Dandridge Custis.


 She was a young, beautiful, recently widowed and very sought after prize in the affluent and powerful Chesapeake society. Chances are good that George and Martha had known each other through mutual friends. They became engaged sometime in early summer 1758 and were married on January 6,1759.



There is always strong speculation that George Washington was passionately in love with Sally Fairfax, the wife of his best friend George William.  It seems, however, that all parties "moved on" and the Washingtons and the Williams remained the closest of friends. 

When George proposed to Martha he was undoubtedly enamored by her independence and diminutive beauty (she was a full 13 inches shorter than he), but there is no doubt that Washington was taking care of his future and marrying someone with more wealth and power than he possessed. 

The marriage ended up to be a wonderful one. Martha had two young children by her previous marriage, and George Washington raised them as if they were his own. He was heartbroken over the loss of 17 year old, Patsy and had tried all attempts to save her from her illness. When his step son, Jack, now a young father himself, died from typhus,Washington raised his children and assumed responsibility for their futures.


Martha proved to be the perfect match for this straight forward, yet ambitious, man. She hated being away from home and hearth, but dutifully traveled to Valley Forge each year during the war campaign to bolster the morale of both the troops and her husband. I think the most telling aspect of their marriage is George's instruction to Martha that she destroy all correspondence between them in the event of his death. Clearly he poured out his heart and soul out to her and, being the very discreet man that he was, did not think that history should intrude on this private love.


During this president's weekend we will see the familiar image of an old George Washington on everything from dollars to car sale signs. Martha has been forever enshrined as the old woman wearing the bonnet. Let's, though, remember them for who they really were; he, a 27 year old handsome soldier just home from the battle front , and she a 27 year old, diminutive Southern Belle, mother of two, who wore purple silk shoes with spangled buttons on her wedding day.

 Love comes suddenly to some and gradually to others; the test is in the time. The Custis-Washingtons were happily married for 40 years.

Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha

After watching Kerry Washington's interview with Jon Stewart, I became a big fan.

I was very impressed with this actress' poise,style, sense of humor, and sense of self.

Kerry Washington does not seem to be filled with the self importance which often accompanies her level of success, and she has a delightful perspective concerning the intensity of her character, Olivia Pope and her hit show Scandal.

Washington grew up in a middle class family in Brooklyn, NY. Her dad was a realtor and her mom an educator. Kerry earned a BA from George Washington University and went on to establish an acting career on stage and in film.

Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe

It seems that Seth Meyers and his wife, Alexi Ashe are quite familiar with special occasions taking dramatic turns.

Seth and Alexi met, as many couples do, at the wedding of a friend.  It was love at first sight and the couple married in October 2013. Unfortunately, Alexi had a rushed trip to the ER when she suffered food poisoning at the rehearsal dinner. As she lay passed out on the gurney, a nurse walked by and commented: "You're not getting married today." That's all Alexi needed! She sat up, recovered and said, "I'm getting married today!"


The birth of their son, Ashe, gave occasion for another dramatic family event.

During his 2016 opening monologue, Seth Meyers did a lovely job of sharing the Easter Sunday rush to the hospital as Ashe decided to arrive two weeks early. Seth credited Uber driver, Tariq for his calm compassion and capability in the face of a stressful situation. Of course, Seth then went on to praise his wife for enduring intense labor in the back seat of the car and holding it together until they arrived to meet their "bunny-eared" baby delivery team.

Two years later, Seth announced the birth of his second son, Axel, on  April 10th 2018.
 Referring back to the Easter "Uber Story" he  began his opening monologue by saying,
"Well...move over that story."

This time Alexi did not even make it down in the elevator before the baby made his speedy entrance. Once again, Seth praised his wife for staying collected while surrounded by the NYC fire department as the cord was cut, and she snuggled her new little guy.

Who knows what the next Ashe-Meyer drama will be? Let's hope that whatever the start, the endings continue to be joyous.

Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King, Jr.

On a hot day in August in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led almost 300,000 people in the March on Washington. 

King addressed this huge crowd standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. 

When Mahalia Jackson called out, urging Dr. King to 'tell us about the dream', he set aside his prepared text and delivered one of the greatest speeches in history.

This April will mark the 50th anniversary of the murder of Dr. King. 
We strive, particularly through these dark times, to honor and esteem  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his enormous contribution to world peace, justice, and humanity, and we still thrill at the words "I Have a Dream".

 We also know of the great work of Coretta Scott King as an author, activist and civil rights leader. 

But when trying to find out how M.L. and Coretta met, there was not much information. 

History has focused on the couple's working partnership rather than on a boy meeting a girl and finding a lifelong friend and soul mate. In the Fall of 1951 Martin Luther King, Jr. had arrived in Boston to continue his studies at Boston University. He called an old friend from Atlanta, Mary Powell, and asked the age old question; could she fix him up with a friend? King, however, was not chasing girls, he was looking for a wife. 

Mary had met a young woman while studying at the New England Conservatory of Music who she thought might be just the right choice for her friend. Coretta Scott has been described as a poised, attractive, independent thinking woman. She could also be described as brilliant and talented. Coretta grew up in Marion,Alabama the daughter of hard working parents who, though uneducated themselves, were determined that their children receive good educations. Coretta was awarded a full scholarship at Antioch College and went on to continue her study in music at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. 

When she met M.L. she was unimpressed with his 5'7" stature, but she soon became impressed with his mind and heart. M.L. told her, "You have everything I have ever wanted in a wife. There are only four things, and you have them all...character,intelligence, personality, and beauty." Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King, Jr. were married on June 18, 1953 on the lawn at her mother's house. The ceremony was performed by the Martin Luther King, Sr. Coretta completed her studies and graduated from the  New England Conservatory with a degree in voice and violin. She and her husband moved to Montgomery, Alabama in September 1954.The rest is history!

The Papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Volumes 2-3; Martin Luther King, Jr.,Clayborne Carson,Peter Holloran,Ralph Luker,Penny A. Russell
http://books.google.com/books
www.wikipedia.com/Coretta Scott King

Le Baiser de l'Hotel de Ville

Robert Doisneau

My heart always lies in Paris...especially this weekend.
Pour Paris avec amour...


One Valentine's Day, my very romantic husband gave me a framed copy of Robert Doisneau's Le Baiser. It has always hung over my writing desk offering inspiration and invitation to travel and romance. Dreams do come true, and we have been to Paris many times, each time discovering romance in another part of the beautiful city, all looking like the background of the wonderful Doisneau photographs.


 Robert Doisneau is one of France's best known photographers,and is known for his street photography and the many images of everyday French life. He is quoted as saying,"The marvels of daily life are so exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street." 


The famous kiss in fornt of l'Hotel de Ville has the spark of spontaneity in its action. The lovers in the photo,were Françoise Delbart, 20, and Jacques Carteaud, 23, both aspiring actors. In 2005 Françoise Bornet (née Delbart) remembered that

 "He told us we were charming, and asked if we could kiss again for the camera. We didn't mind. We were used to kissing. We were doing it all the time then, it was delicious. Monsieur Doisneau was adorable, very low key, very relaxed." 

Although the relationship between Delbart and Carteaud only lasted for nine months, the The Kiss is one of the most celebrated photographs of modern times.


Robert Doisneau had his own romantic meeting. When a lovely French girl, named Pierette, came cycling through the village where he was on holiday, the two fell in love and were married. Unlike the lovers in Le Basiere de l'Hotel de Ville, Robert and Pierette Doisneau were married and remained together until death parted them in 1993. 

Vive le baiser et la romance!

Robert Doisneau


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Doisneau

Go Pats!

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

I am not a big football fan, but I am a big Tom Brady fan. This guy is an amazing talent, a strong leader both on and off the field, an athlete who is a real team player, and a dedicated husband and father.

I've never been to a Patriots game, but I had the privilege of seeing Tom Brady up close one night when my husband and I were walking back from dinner in Harvard Square. We were walking by the football stadium when we saw this amazing pass. It ended up to be the Special Olympics football night with Tom Brady and a host of other players. And...there was Brady, making another winning pass to help out his team.


We hung around till the end of the game, and were walking away when my husband spotted Brady's Audi 8 parked and ready to go. There was Tom walking toward the car and stopping to sign all autographs requested by any kid near by before being whisked away.


Another time the Brady Mobile was noticed was after an early morning Boston accident. The damage to both cars was minor, and, fortunately no one was hurt, but the press was all over the fact that Brady was passing through the city at a pre-dawn hour.Suspicion grew as Brady professed to be on his way to a practice down at Foxboro. Would a super star like Tom really be up so early to go to work, or was he on his way home from a late night? An annoyed Coach Belichick assured the cynical press that, yes indeed, Tom Brady was up that early to attend a mandatory practice.


Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen met on a beach in Rio de Janiero. He, of course, was "tossing" around the football and she "of course" was quite taken.


By all accounts Tom and his wife Giselle are a happy couple.They live in Boston with their son,Benjamin and their daughter, Vivian Lake.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/tom-brady-gisele-bunchen-love-story

John and Annie Glenn

John and Annie Glenn

John and Annie Glenn don’t really have a very exciting “how they met” story. John and Annie have known each other their entire lives. Growing up in Ohio, their parents were close friend, and often plunked their baby boy and girl together to share a playpen. The childhood friendship blossomed, and all through high school. everyone knew that any event would have John and Annie coming together. They shared a love of music, a love of each other, a deep bond, and an unbreakable trust.

As John’s fame catapulted his young bride into the public spotlight, Annie’s secret struggle, her disabling stutter,became even more of a burden . Never a problem with her best friend, John, Annie was rendered literally speechless when in any public setting.

After years of frustration and struggle, Annie finally found an intensive speech therapy program which worked. John Glenn wrote of his wife’s experience,

"I saw Annie's perseverance and strength through the years and it just made me admire her and love her even more...I don't know if I would have had the courage."

They’ve loved and supported each other through trying times and dangerous journeys. 

 As a Marine, John flew nearly 150 combat missions and later flew the famous Friendship 7 mission on February 20, 1962. Before dangerous deployments, or the terrifying 4 hours:55 minutes:23 seconds of space travel, the Glenns practiced the same good-by ritual. Using the lyrics of an old song, John would say,

 “I’m just going down to the store to get a pack of gum.”

Annie replying,

“Don’t be long.”

When John Glenn went up in the Space Shuttle Discovery, on October 29, 1998, he handed Annie a small pack of gum to hold until his safe return.

This week on April 6th, 92 year old Annie and 90 year old John will celebrate 68 years of marriage. Here’s to a wonderful life of love and adventure….God speed, John and Annie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn

Love-All

The U.S. Tennis Open is on, and present will be tennis champion, John McEnroe. Known for his devastating serves and volleys which led to his 17 Grand Slam titles, McEnroe is also known for his on court tantrums and abusive language which led to his being known as something of an...well,you know ... anyway, McEnroe has left the bad boy image behind and has emerged a favorite commentator and participant of today's world of tennis.   His most important match, with Patty Smyth ended in a Love-All score.

 In 1993 Patty Smyth,former lead singer of The Scandals, was focusing on a single career both as a musician and a mom. She remembers meeting John McEnroe at a Christmas party in Los Angeles.  "His three kids hung onto him like monkeys," she says of Mac,  "His sweetness was surprising." McEnroe recalls that a mutual pal intended to set him up with Smyth that night but forgot to tell her. "I tried in my own pathetic way to ask Patty out," he says, "but she was going away the next day." Their first real date was nearly a year later, and she says, "I knew that night I was safe with him."

Many years and six kids later the couple have a very successful match...at least off the court.

He still needs work on one part of his game. "John is banned from playing tennis with us," says Smyth. "He tortures me. We all get too mad at him."

McEnroe says fatherhood keeps him mellow. "The good part of having six kids," he says, "is there's always one who wants to hug you and say, 'Daddy, I love you.'" In lieu of date nights, he and Smyth watch movies and play Scrabble with the kids. And while he's not big on flowers, she says, "He's affectionate and totally devoted." 

McEnroe-Smyth  final score  Love-All

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20271190,00.html

Stephen Colbert and Evelyn McGee

Watching Stephen Colbert and the nightly Colbert Report is an evening routine I look forward to as one that both informs me on the daily "truthiness" and makes me both contemplate political and world events and laugh out loud at Colbert's "conservative" view point.




 His onscreen persona as Stephen Colbere...the savvy, intelligent, very conservative news anchor allows him to brilliantly explore and parody both sides of the political aisle.


 One of my favorite aspects of the Colbert report is its over all gentle approach to this type of sarcasm. Stephen Colbert never sprinkles expletives or edginess throughout his stories simply for shock value.
 Stephen Colbert grew up in a family of 11 children in Charleston, South Carolina.he began his acting career while studying at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and became a Theater Major after he transferred to Northwestern University.

In his early career, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, and there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello.

 The three comedians at first didn't get along. Dinello thought that Colbert was pretentious, and Colbert thought Dinello to be an "illiterate thug". During the tour everything changed, and they all became very close friends.

The three collaborated on a show called, Strangers with Candy. While filming the show, Stephen Colbert met his future wife, Evelyn McGee, who played several roles in the filming of both the series and the resulting film.

 The Colbert-McGee family is a happy one with three children: Madeline, Peter, and John. When asked if his children watch The Colbert Report, Stephen replied that he prefers that his children not watch the show. he recognizes that kids do not really understand his style of sarcasm and irony, and that he would never want them to perceive their dad as being insincere.

All of this information about my favorite news guy only supports my feeling that all of this time I was being entertained, informed, and amused by a very intelligent, caring, and decent man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert

A Real Bond Girl

When Alex Chapman saw Anna Kuschenko across a crowded dance floor in 2001, he immediately thought she was" the most beautiful girl he had ever seen".


The couple married just five months later and, now we know, that Alex Chapman was Anna's ticket to a dual Russian-British citizenship.


During 2003-2004 Chapman became concerned over his wife's new group of "secretive, well-connected Russian friends."He was usually excluded from her outings and the marriage fell apart, ending in divorce in 2006. An FBI sting led to the arrest of Anna Kuschenka in 2010, and she became part of the biggest spy swap between the United States and Russia since 1986.



So... what happened to Alex Chapman? After cooperating fully with the investigative authorities by telling them all he knew of his ex-wife's suspicious activities, he engaged a well known media publicist and is on his way to fame and fortune.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman

Carole Lombard and Clark Gable

On this April Fool's Day, famous internationally for well timed practical jokes, let's celebrate the love of Lombard and Clark, one of Hollywood's most beloved couples both on and off the silver screen, and one who kept their romance alive with humor and a  passion for extravagant pranks.
 

It was 1936 and two legends from the silver screen, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, met, fell in love, married, and became one of the most famous couples during the Golden Age of Hollywood. 

Carole Lombard was a gorgeous, sexy, blond whose brilliance as a comic actress made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. Off screen she was much loved for her unpretentious personality and well known for her down to earth sense of humor and acerbic quips. Clark Gable was everybody's favorite leading man. handsome, charming, and always the romantic lead, he had a fan following unmatched by most.

The two originally met in 1932 during the filming of  No Man of Her Own, but met again in 1936 at a ball organized by Lombard. Gable proposed to Lombard in 1939 in a telephone booth at the very famous Brown Derby restaurant. Humor, intelligence, and a passion for jokes kept the original spark alive all through their marriage.

After a fight one time, Gable awoke to a flock of doves in his hotel suite. A request for a kitten resulted in the arrival of a baby cougar brought back from a Gable safari.

In 1941 returning home from a trip to boost morale for U.S. troops heading off to WWII, Carole Lombard was killed when her flight crashed shortly after take off in Las Vegas; she was only 33. Clark Gable was inconsolable and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. he was later in attendance at the christening of the SS Carole Lombard.

When he died in 1960, Clark Gable was buried alongside Carole Lombard in Glendale, California.

www. wikipedia_carolelombard.com

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

 

When romantic meetings occur, usually one person has to take the initiative to ensure that the relationship progresses beyond the initial spark. Queen Victoria had no reservation in expressing her desire to marry Prince Albert of Saxe- Coburg in 1839. Victoria knew that he was "the one" after the Prince visited Windsor with his brother on October 10th. They could not make an appearance at dinner, due to the fact that their luggage had been lost in a stormy Channel crossing, but Albert appeared after dinner in more informal attire. Victoria found him extremely attractive and charming, and found her own heart "quite going".
Albert was summoned to a private audience during which the queen proposed marriage. Albert joyfully accepted and the couple embraced "over and over again". Their engagement was filled with kindnesses and kisses and their marriage filled with love, support, and mutual respect and admiration.

Weintraub,Stanley;Victoria. EP Dutton,NY 1987

The Gift of the Magi

We are never told how Jim and Della meet in O.Henry's famous Christmas short story, The Gift of the Magi, but their deep love for each other is demonstrated by the sacrifices they are willing to make to assure the happiness of the other. The story tells us that...

... there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. 

It's the day before Christmas and there is no money to be had in the Dillingham Young household to buy a gift for her beloved Jim. In desperation Della decides to sacrifice her greatest possession to get enough money to buy Jim a beautiful watch chain for his prized gold watch. She rushes out and sells her long flowing hair before she has time to change her mind.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was named after his famous, distant cousin, Francis Scott Key.

As a young man, Fitzgerald attended Princeton University, where, ironically, his writing interfered with his coursework. He was placed on academic probation, eventually dropped out, and joined the U.S. Army.

Now commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry, he was shipped off to Camp Sheridan outside of Montgomery, Alabama. Here he met and fell in love with "golden girl" Zelda Sayre.

When Zelda called off the engagement, due to Fitzgerald's lack of fame and fortune, he returned to a previous autobiographical piece, The Romantic Egotist. 

His revised novel, This Side of Paradise, was a triumphant success.

F. Scott and Zelda were married and went on to live their now famous lives of heart ache and despair.

Their only child, Scottie Fitzgerald, said about her parents,

"People who live entirely by the fertility of their imaginations are fascinating, brilliant and often charming, but they should be sat next to at dinner parties, not lived with."

 http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/