Greta Garbo

Greta Lovisa Gustafsson  grew up in a poor neighborhood in Stockholm; a shy child who preferred daydreaming and play-acting to school. When her father died of Spanish flu in 1920, she had to leave school and go to work to help support the family. Her first job was in a barbershop, as a "lather girl," and she also found work as a department store model. Her modeling jobs led to some small roles in advertising films for the store and for a local bakery.

While studying at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, she caught the eye of silent-film director Mauritz Stiller. He took her under his wing, changed her last name to "Garbo" and cast her in his film The Saga of Gösta Berling (1923). When Stiller signed a deal with MGM in Hollywood, he insisted on bringing his star with him. The studio set about to craft a persona for the aloof Swedish actress, portraying her as a woman of mystery, and though they had only agreed to put her under contract to get Stiller on board, they soon discovered that she had star potential.

SoRo Romance

We met on a Friday night in the middle of spring (we’d actually met before that and said “hello” but she doesn’t remember). It was the last day of law school exams. All over, small parties had erupted in different homes. Everyone was dealing with the sudden combination of exhaustion, relief, and elation. I was happy to be done with exams and even happier that I had three weeks of nothing to do.



Just as all roads in the ancient world led to Rome, all parties in SoRo lead to Crossroads. Crossroads is a large bar/space that serves several different purposes as the primary spot in a tiny New England town filled with liberal law students and life-long residents. It’s a dive bar with cheap beer, it’s a giant outdoor patio and horseshoe pit, it’s a back room with pool tables, and on a night when the  entire law school is hanging out and celebrating, it’s a dance hall; the whole place was thumpin’.


I arrived with about a dozen friends from an earlier house party. It was late, but not late for a Friday night. I bought a beer and worked my way through the crowd, trying to say hello to people who were graduating or heading off for the summer. After a little while, I noticed this girl on the dance floor. She had arrived earlier with friends, and was celebrating her last exam of her first year. I watched as she moved around laughing and smiling; she seemed to know everyone and everyone seemed to love her. Unfortunately my friend, Chris, also spotted her and was pretty confident about his chances. So we made a bet over whether Chris would get a kiss by the end of the night. Chris figured that he wouldn't have a problem because, even though she had been dancing with some other guys, she seemed willing to dance with him and he had faith in his own persistence. Sadly (and unexpectedly) for Chris, I hadn't yet begun to talk with the cute blonde girl; it’s like making a bet on the likelihood that the Yankees will win a game, only to discover later that you’d been talking with Derek Jeter.


I began dancing, trying to surreptitiously edge my way towards my objective, who was grooving like whoa to the music. I arranged an introduction. We started to dance, and dance and dance. It got later and later: midnight and beyond. Her friends started leaving. She suggested I go with them, so we head to the big gazebo on town green. Everyone always wants to keep on spending just a little more time out in the nice early summer weather. We talked and talked discussing all sorts of things, and the night grew deeper. After a bit, it got a little cooler and we went over to her car to get her jacket. At the car, we kissed, and upon leaning against the car, released the emergency brake. The car began to roll downhill towards the green. At that exact moment, her friend wandered by, and we had to scramble to keep the car from rolling over the friend and onto the green. We kept the car (and friend) from catastrophe and I walked her back to where she was staying. I got her phone number, which I promptly lost, but saved myself by emailing her two days later.

Chris bought me a drink the next night.

Heart and Soul

Last year, on August 17th, Bethany Hamilton, of Soul Surfer fame, married Adam Dirks. Hamilton met Dirks, a Christian youth minister, through mutual friends at her church. The two fell in love and announced their engagement last spring.

In an interview with "In Touch" magazine, Bethany confided,

"I always felt it would be hard for me to meet someone, because I'm different. To say that I was completely comfortable looking at myself in the mirror and seeing one arm would be a lie. I just had to trust in God and know that he had someone special for me."


Bethany Hamilton is one of my heroes. She has inspired all with her story of survival and courage following the loss of her arm in a shark attack when she was only 13. Motivated by her family's love, her personal faith and her amazing perseverance Bethany reclaimed surfing for her own, and was able to become one of the top surfer's in the world. She was also determined to use her own misfortune to learn how to motivate others and reach out to those in need.


Bethany's love of challenge is not limited to the world of surfing. This past March she teamed up with driver, Chrissie Beavis, to complete the world's only all-women off-road rally race; the 23rd annual Gazelle Rally.

In the Gazelle, racers must reach a series of check points across the grueling Sahara desert using the shortest distance.




Was Hamilton just "along for the ride"? No way!
Doing the bulk of the driving in a car with no modifications, she negotiated some of the highest dunes in the world while Chrissie Beavis performed the navigation.
They finished an impressive 8th out of 150 teams.


It's no surprise that Bethany Hamilton's "someone special" should be a companion in adventure, in faith, and in love.

"Adam and I love to live healthy, active lifestyles, and we hope to share that with others. I'm excited to go on some adventures with him as well."

Let's hope he can keep up:)

Congratulations!

http://xgames.espn.go.com/rally-moto-x/article/9116277/bethany-hamilton-chrissie-beavis-finish-23rd-annual-gazelle-rally-eighth
http://www.grindtv.com/action-sports/surf/post/bethany-hamilton-marries-christian-youth-minister-adam-dirks/

The Real Deal

In an era where heroes seem to be in short supply, and there is a tendency to exaggerate accomplishments to acquire heroic status, Neil Armstrong needed no such crutch.

He was the real deal.

Neil Armstrong gained star status when he took the first steps on the moon on July 20,1969. When he radioed to Houston, “The Eagle has landed.” Houston replied, “You’ve got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.”

Neil Armstrong grew up in small town Ohio and learned to fly before he learned to drive.

After serving in the Navy during the Korean War,fighting in the unit immortalized by author James A. Michener  in “The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Armstrong headed off to Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering studies, his grades rising and a career in sight.

While at Purdue he met Janet Shearon. The couple married in January 1956. By the time Armstrong was tapped to command the Apollo 11^th mission, Jan and Neal had already gone through more than most couples their age. A young daughter had died from an inoperable brain tumor, leaving two brothers behind.

Heroism, of course, takes many forms. Perhaps none are more heroic than those who see the hero off on the journey. The ones who stay behind watching, waiting, safeguarding all things precious display an inner strength and courage maybe surpassing those who pursue the adventure.

The Armstrongs remained married until 1994. They divorced and went their separate ways. Both Jan and Neil maintained a privacy that protected both the family and the heroic image the nation had created for them.

Napoleon and Josephine

Le quatorze juillet, the storming of the Bastille in Paris on July 14, 1789, was a rallying point and a symbolic act of defiance, pivotal to the start of the French Revolution. Born in 1763 and married at the age of 16, Marie Josephine Rose Tascher de La Pagerie survived the Reign of Terror, imprisonment, and the execution of her husband, Alexander.

Now a widow, Josephine became the mistress of many powerful men including General Napoleon Bonaparte. Six years her junior, Napoleon's ardor for Josephine has been made famous by a collection of his love letters to her.

The couple was married on March 9, 1796. Two days after the wedding Napoleon left to lead the French army in Italy. Unfortunately Josephine wasted no time in beginning an affair with a handsome, young lieutenant.

Her affair led to Napoleon's own affair and the marriage began its decline, ending in divorce in 1810. Despite a tumultuous relationship in turbulent times, Josephine and Napoleon remained on good terms until their deaths.

He is reported to have once said that the only thing that came between them were Josephine's debts.

Her name was among Napoleon's final words when he died in exile on St. Helena in 1821.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos%C3%A9phine_de_Beauharnais

Grace Goodhue and Calvin Coolidge

 

Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4,1872 in tiny Plymouth Notch, Vermont.
He was a smart, energetic, and very ambitious boy who was destined to go far beyond his humble beginnings.

Perhaps his most surprising accomplishment, was his success in winning the hand of the lovely and charming Grace.

Grace Goodhue Coolidge's charm and lively personality were the perfect match for the future president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge. His reserved manner led to the nickname, Silent Cal, and to many stories that celebrated his New England stoicism. One such story was that, while at a White House dinner party, a guest shared with the President a bet she had with a friend that she could make him say more than two words. His alleged reply was a simple "You lose."


Grace Goodhue graduated from the University of Vermont in 1902. From there she went to teach at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts. One morning while watering flowers outside the school, Grace happened to look up into the window of the boarding house across the street. Much to her surprise she saw Calvin Coolidge standing in front of a mirror shaving, wearing nothing but long underwear and a hat. Her laugh made him look and a romance was launched.


Despite the objections of her mother, Grace accepted Calvin's romantic ultimatum of a proposal,
"I am going to be married to you!".
The couple was married at the Goodhue home at 312 Maple Street in Burlington,Vermont on October 4, 1905.


The marriage was a successful one summed up in lovely prose by Silent Cal,


"For almost a quarter of a century she was borne with my infirmities, and I have rejoiced in her graces."

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Collidge

Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti

 Sofia Villani Scicolone was born in Rome and raised by a single mother who was a piano teacher, but aspired to be an actress. Her aspirations, beauty, and talents were passed along to young Sofia who, at the age of 14, was entering beauty pageants and eventually enrolled in acting classes.
When her film career was launched Sofia decided to become Sophia Loren. She met the famous film producer, carlo Ponti, in 1950 when she was 15 and he was 37. Ponti was so much in love with Sophia that he married her in 1957. A small problem was caused by the fact that Ponti was already married. After one annulment and one divorce, the couple legally married in 1966 and remained happy together until Ponti's death in 2007. When asked in a November 2009 interview if she would ever marry again, the still beautiful and charming Sophia Loren replied,"No, never again. It would be impossible to love anyone else."
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_Loren

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita

June is the month for gay pride events all over the world, and New York City is proud to be hosting their 20th Gay Pride Fest later this month.

A fitting tribute to NYC's legalization of gay marriage was the marriage between Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita last July 21st.

 Ferguson and Mikita, long time partners in romance, are also long time partners in their support of marriage equality. In September 2012 Ferguson and Mikita co-founded Tie The Knot, a non profit charity whose mission is to raise funds to support marriage equality for same sex couples by selling (what else???) limited edition bow ties. A perfect match for this great actor-lawyer couple!

Congratulations to all, and remember....everyday is filled with Gay Pride!

Wrong Place...Right Time

I never thought I'd meet my fiance in a girl's bathroom.

My future husband Jai spent his teen years in the resort town of Seaside, Oregon, then moved to Arizona for a decade. In 2002, he decided to move back to the Oregon coast to be near family. One of the things he had missed about living in Seaside was the Kajukenbo martial arts school where he had trained for some time and earned a brown belt. I had begun training at that same dojo two years prior, and attended classes three nights a week.

Once Jai moved back to Oregon, he registered for the class right away so he could resume his martial arts training. On his first night back at the dojo, he stood in the lobby waiting for the men's room to vacate so that he could change into his Karate gi (uniform). The instructor of the class, whom we address as "Sifu (teacher)", asked Jai why he was standing around.

"The men's room is occupied, I'm just waiting for it to open so I can change," he replied.