Serendipity

 Serendipity is defined by Merriam-Webster as 
"the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for."


The word was first used in 1754 by writer and parliament member Horace Walpole. In a letter to a friend, Walpole wrote that he came up with "serendipity" while remembering a once read fairy tale, "The Three Princes of Serendip".


While traveling from their small island nation off the southern tip of India, the princes frequently made discoveries of things not intentionally sought after.


Many marvels from the benefits of penicillin to the wonders of Viagra:) have been discovered while researching for entirely different purpose.

So, what better way to describe that chance meeting that results in that amazing relationship? How often do we ask ourselves those hundreds of "what if" questions referring to the slight change of plans, timing, or choices that would have resulted in never meeting our special someone?

A UK translation site lists serendipity as one of the most difficult words to translate in the English language.

The word itself may break down in translation, but the true meaning is universal.

 http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2010/01/28

Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

Lovely Anne Boleyn was a woman with a mind of her own from a very early age. Born in 1501 to Thomas Boleyn 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Lady Elizabeth Howard, Anne was educated in the Netherlands and France to be a maid of honor to Claude of France. She was brought home to England in 1522 to marry her cousin, but the marriage plans fell apart and Anne became secretly betrothed the next year to Henry Percy, son of the 5th Earl of Northumberland.

This match was never to be, and Henry Percy was forced to withdraw his betrothal and follow the preexisting marital arrangements made by his family.

Anne was sent home, and was soon the object of Henry VIII's unwanted attention. She had already observed the tragic consequences of her sister's life as Henry's mistress and she refused to follow suit. Henry, not accustomed to being denied his pleasures, became obsessed with winning Anne's hand. He broke faith with the Roman Catholic Church in seeking a divorce from Catherine of Aragon and caused even more controversy by marrying Anne.

Anne bore Henry a daughter, Elizabeth, but this birth was followed by three miscarriages. Not getting the son he yearned for, Henry's affections wandered toward Jane Seymour, and Anne Boleyn found herself in grave danger. Wanting to, again, free himself of a wife, Henry had Anne investigated and arrested for high treason. Harsh measures of persuasion forced accusations from those most close to her, and Anne was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Four days after her trial, at the age of 35, Anne Boleyn was executed. She climbed the scaffold and gracefully addressed the crowd who had gathered to watch the beheading. She begged her listeners to forgive her if she had not "used them all with becoming gentleness" and asked for prayers for herself and for the King. She also asked God to be compassionate to those who had condemned her. The crowd wept as the executioner swiftly used his sword.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

Humphrey Bogart was known as a cool, commanding, and compelling film actor whose glib "one liners" are highly recognizable and often quoted.

He met his perfect match while filming "To Have and Have Not". Lauren Bacall was only nineteen when she auditioned for the film's leading lady role.

She reported that she was so nervous she tucked her chin into her neck and looked up at the camera, inadvertently creating a look that would be her signature. Bogart was in a miserable marriage which finally ended in divorce allowing him to marry Lauren Bacall on Mat 21, 1945. The couple had two children; a son, Stephen, named for Bogart's fictitious name in "To Have and Have not", and a daughter, Leslie.

They remained happily married until Bogart's death in 1957. When Humphrey Bogart was cremated, Lauren Bacall buried,with his remains,a gift she had received from him before their marriage. As a memento of the film where they met and fell in love, Bogart gave Bacall a gold whistle on which was inscribed, "If you want anything, just whistle."

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

Gloria and Emilio Estefan

Gloria Maria Milagrosa Fajardo, later known as the wonderful Gloria Estefan, was born in Havana, Cuba.

Her father, a former soldier in the Cuban Army and bodyguard to dictator, Fulgencio Batista, fled with his family to Miami following the Cuban Revolution.

While attending the University of Miami Gloria met and fell in love with Emilio Estefan, founder of the Miami Sound Machine, and the rest is musical history.

With, now, Gloria Estefan as the lead singer, the band went on to sell millions of albums. Gloria Estefan is also known for her courage and fortitude after a near fatal accident in which a truck demolished her tour bus during a snow storm.


A year after the accident, Estefan took the stage at the American Music award to a standing ovation.

And, of her marriage to Emilio, she says he was her first and last boyfriend. The couple remains happily married and live with their son and daughter in Miami Beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Estefan#Marriage

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

 

In December of 1843, at the age of thirty, Charles Dickens was already a well known writer whose fame in Europe and North America drew huge crowds when he was booked for book tours. He was married to Catherine Hogarth and the Christmas season of 1843 had the young couple expecting their fifth child.

As with most of his characters, Dickens own life was a rags to riches success story, but this December found the family in desperate need for money. Catherine’s two younger sisters were living in the household along with Charles’ younger brother Frederick. Book sales had been brisk, but the profit margin smaller than expected. Dickens felt that his publisher was at fault for this lack of profit, and he determined to take matters in his own hands.

Charles Dickens wrote intensely for six weeks and produced “A Christmas Carol”

When it was finished in early December, and he had written “The End” in huge letters, underlined three times, Dickens decided to by pass his negligent publishing house and publish the book himself. 

Recognizing its potential value, he oversaw every aspect of its publication, and the final edition saw the book bound with gilt-edged pages, the title pages in a vibrant red and green, and four hand-colored etchings and wood cuts illustrating the now classic tale.

Just as he hoped, “A Christmas Carol”, released on December 19, 1843, sold out its first edition of 6,000 copies by Christmas Eve. Unfortunately The book sales barely covered the expense of publication, and the hoed for profit of 1,000 pounds, was reduced to a bare 200 pounds.

The gift Charles Dickens gave to future readers, though, is priceless. “A Christmas Carol” is considered on of the most influential pieces ever written, and has become a part of Christmas tradition.

So, as was said of Ebeneezer Scrooge, who finally found the true spirit of the holiday and,

“…that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge…

“May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”

 http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org

The Big Event

It would be remiss to have a collection of couples' “how we met” stories and ignore the big event of the day; the much anticipated Royal Wedding.  As I was reading about how Kate and William met, I decided to journey back in time and do a little research on the “how we met” stories of some of the Royal family.

Anyone who has seen The King’s Speech remembers Elizabeth joking to Bertie about refusing his first proposal. And, anyone who has seen the movie also knows that Prince Albert was a determined, young man, who decided that he would “marry no one else.” In February 1922, when Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of  Albert's sister, Princess Mary, he decided to propose again. Once more, though, Elizabeth turned him down being “afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to.”

Bertie refused to admit defeat, and finally got lucky on his third try. The couple was married in Westminster Abbey on April 26,1923.

Elizabeth II met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark several times while growing up. Apparently he made quite an impression, because she was in love with him by the age of thirteen and the two began exchanging letters. Interestingly enough, the match was filled with controversy. Philip was considered to be a foreigner and had sisters who had married German nobleman who were later suspected of having Nazi ties. The Queen Mother reportedly referred to Philip as “The Hun”. True love prevailed, however, and the couple married on November 20, 1947.  The wedding could take place only after Philip had renounced his Greek and Danish titles, had converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglican, and had taken on the surname of his mother’s British family becoming Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer had also known each other for many years before they became involved. Charles, under increasing pressure to marry, took a serious interest in Diana as a potential bride during the summer of 1980. They were both guests at a country weekend and she took the time to watch him play polo. They began dating and Diana was well received by all members of the Royal family. Charles and Diana were engaged in February 1981, and married on July 29, 1981. Diana had just turned twenty years old at the time of their marriage.

Prince William and Kate Middleton met at school. They were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland when they met in 2001. The relationship went through the usual ups and downs, mostly William not wanting to commit, and then realizing what he was throwing away. Fortunately for him, Kate was willing to try again. This time he took the step, proposed, and she accepted.

The result... the Royal Wedding on April 29, 2011...the birth of Prince George... and a new arrival on the way!
 I wish them well.

Steve Jobs

The late Steve Jobs was the iconic, sometimes controversial, and always brilliant mind behind Apple Inc..











To me, he exemplified courage in entrepreneurship and creativity.


He seemed to face his biggest challenge, his battle with cancer, in the same way he faced challenges all his life; to think “beyond what anyone thought possible” and to do “some great work, really great work that will go down in history.”

When it came to romance, apparently Jobs followed the same game plan.

When Steve met his wife Laurene, she was in an MBA program at Stanford University. Jobs was scheduled to be at a business meeting when he decided to follow his heart instead of his agenda;

“If this was my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting, or with this woman?”

He ran across the parking lot, from which they were both heading out, and asked if she would have dinner with him. She said ‘yes’, they walked back into town and were together ever since.

I’m sure during the  successful and long lasting relationship the journey was made smoother by some of the lessons Steve Lohr of the NYT writes that Jobs has left behind;

Good ideas take time,

Don’t dwell on mistakes,

And, perhaps most important,

Passion counts for a lot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/business/steve-jobs-and-the-power-of-taking-the-big-chance.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/8-things-didn-t-know-life-steve-jobs-172130955.html

Mayor Tom Menino and Angela Faletra

When Boston voters elected Marty Walsh as their 54th mayor in the  2013 mayoral election, the city said good-by and thanks to its longest serving mayor, Thomas Menino.




Mayor Menino had been the face of Boston from 1993, serving five terms as mayor and stepping down with an unprecedented 80% approval rating.

On October 30th 2014, Boston said good-by again to Mayor Menino, when he succumbed to the very aggressive cancer he had been diagnosed with, shortly after leaving office.

Menino, a real Boston boy, grew up right in the city in Hyde Park. He was the son of a factory foreman, attended St. Thomas Aquinas High school, and later enrolled in night classes at Boston College.

Like many hard working parents, Tom Menino's father wanted a better life for his son. His dismay was great when Tom, citing President Harry Truman as his role model, declared that college was not for him, and dropped out of B.C..

He later went on to receive an associates degree in business, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Community Planning while serving as Boston's City Councilor.

In March 1993, after President Clinton  appointed then Mayor Raymond Flynn as United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Tom Menino became acting Mayor of Boston and went on to serve five terms in office.

Tom Menino met Angela Faletra in 1963 when she was playing tennis on the court next to his. She and her friend kept hitting balls into the next court. Tom, made his move and suggested a game of mixed doubles. The two "hit it off", fell in love and were married three years later.

They moved back to  Hyde Park, where they still live, had two kids and are now the proud grand parents of six. Angela still works 30 hours a week as an accountant while performing her ceremonial duties for the city of Boston.

Our thoughts are with the Menino family as they cope with this sad loss, and our thanks go out to them,too, for sharing this great man with the public.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Menino#Personal_life

Happy Birthday Giuseppe Verde

Giuseppe Verde was born on October 10th or 9th 1813 (the baptismal records state that the infant was "born yesterday") in a small village called Busseto.

As a young man he studied composition in Milan and returned to be the music master of his small village. Much renowned, he was invited by a prominent merchant to instruct his lovely daughter, Margherita, in music.

Of course, just as in opera, the two fell deeply in love and, just as in opera, tragedy was just behind the curtain.