Anton Chekov and Olga Knipper

 Born on January 29, 1860 in the South of Russia, Anton Chekov was the middle child in a family of six children. He always claimed to get his talents from his father, but his soul from his mother.


Yevgeniya was an excellent storyteller, who related spell binding tales of her travels all over Russia before she was wed to Anton's tyrannical father.


It was no wonder that years later, when Anton met and fell in love with the talented and high-spirited actress, Olga Knipper, he was reluctant to marry. He feared that the institution of marriage would be too much of a burden for the romance they shared.


Chekov was considered one of  Russia's most eligible bachelors when he met Olga during rehearsals for his play, The Seagull. The young actresses volatile and emotional personality attracted the handsome play-write and kept him "on his toes".


Chekov, who had advanced tuberculosis, continued contact with Olga during his attempts at recuperation in Yalta. Flirtation turned to deep affection and he worried about committing himself to someone ten years his junior knowing he was gravely ill.


Olga, in frustration, wrote to his sister, "Can anyone come to a decision with him?"


Finally on May 25,1901 Olga and Anton were married in a secret ceremony.
Anton's illness and Olga's career made long separation a continued part of their lives together. Despite this they stayed in love and remained together until Chekov's death on July 1,1904.

He wrote to Olga,

"We have one fault in common, we married each other too late."

http://www.gyford.com/archive/2009/04/28/www.geocities.com/Paris/Parc/9893/anton2.html

The Story of San Juan
Capistrano's Mission Swallows

The miracle of the "Swallows" of Capistrano takes place each year at the Mission San Juan Capistano, on March 19th, St. Joseph's Day.

Each year the "Scout Swallows" precede the main flock by a few days and it seems to be their chief duty to clear the way for the main flock to arrive at the "Old Mission" of Capistrano.

With the arrival of early dawn on St. Joseph's Day, the little birds begin to arrive and begin rebuilding their mud nests, which are clinging to the ruins of the old stone church of San Juan Capistrano. The arches of the two story, high vaulted Chapel were left bare and exposed, as the roof collapsed during the earthquake of 1812.

This Chapel, said to be the largest and most ornate in any of the missions, now has a more humble destiny--that of housing the birds that St. Francis loved so well.

After the summer spent within the sheltered walls of the Old Mission in San Juan Capistrano, the swallows take flight again, and on the Day of San Juan, October 23, they leave after circling the Mission bidding farewell to the "JEWEL OF ALL MISSIONS" San Juan Capistrano, California.

http://www.sanjuancapistrano.net/swallows/

The Swallows Return to Capistrano

Anyone in my family could tell you that I have a terrible memory for dates. My husband often teases me that I will someday forget our wedding anniversary. One date I always remember, though, is the birthday of my father-in-law, Bill. He was born on March 19th; the day the swallows return to Capistrano.

It seems fitting that Bill's birth date is renowned for this famous migration. Bill grew up the youngest of five in Southern California. His ancestry goes back to the Basque Country, and his grandfather, Domingo Amestoy, who landed in San Francisco, traveled by foot down to Los Angeles,and allegedly shot a bear along the way. He became one of the area's early ranch settlers.

The Amestoy family prospered and lived at  Rancho Los Encinos, in the San Fernando Valley.
Bill grew up loving the beautiful California landscape and later reminisced over the enormous flocks of birds that would blacken the sky as they migrated south.

When World War II broke out everything changed. Bill enlisted in the Marines and was sent off to fight in the Pacific. His horrific war experiences matched those of many young men, and after years of intense island fighting, he was sent home to recover from shock,stress, and break down.

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.