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.

Happy Anniversary!

Being a collector of romantic "how we met" stories, I have to admit that my own chance meeting with my future husband is one of my favorites:)

We've been through many ups and downs together, but together we are...after 33 years...and he's still my best friend.

During my senior year of college I had an internship working at the State Department of Agriculture in our tiny capital city. I had made one of those last minute housing arrangements and planned to live with my roommate's sister's boyfriend. The situation became more complicated when they broke-up the night before I arrived. The ex was still happy to have me stay,and greeted me with the announcement that we would be attending a very special event.


He and a large group of friends had just returned from a weekend road trip to the Jersey Shore.One of the friends had the brilliant idea of carrying a tape recorder so that the event could forever be preserved for group memory.On this night they were all assembling at the local hangout to hear the tape played back.We arrived to a full house and I squeezed into a booth to listen to a hilarious series of interviews and narrations chronicling this historic odyssey to the shore.I quickly noticed that I was one "middle man" away from a very cute guy.

If I could only lose the guy in the middle, I could make my move.Finally as the tape came to an end, the beer that had been drunk prevailed and "middle man" wanted out.The cute guy was even cuter close up. I decided to make a move. I put my hand on cute guy's leg and said,
"I hope you're a lady's man, because I'm a man's lady." (true...we both actually remember that:)
I fell in love, he did, too and the conversation began that night is still going on.

My Mom and Dad

The first time I posed the question, "So how did you meet anyway?" the subject naturally enough, was my mother. We were in the kitchen and she was ironing a never ending pile of cotton shirts. She put down the iron and with a wry smile on her face told the story of how she met my father.

My mother was a nurse working in Providence, RI during World War II. The war had just ended and her former roommate, Virginia, was in town to show off her blossoming family. As their afternoon visit wound down, Virginia's brother, along with a group of friends, started to head out the door. Never one to waste the still rationed gasoline, my future grandmother added several items to his agenda along with, "Why don't you drop Virginia's friend off while you're out?".

Several blocks later, not wanting to impose on anyone, my shy mother hopped out at the next stop sign and walked home. My father, hoping to get an opportunity to "chat up" my mother, was dismayed to find her gone.

He went to his sister to ask about my mother's dating status and was given the not too truthful reply, "She's practically engaged." Having lost too many years to service in the Pacific, and never one to waste any time, my dad made his move and the rest is family history, our beginning.

Ingrid Michaelson and Greg Laswell

The New York Times did a wonderful interview with Ingrid Michaelson in a Sunday edition. In this interview, Ms. Michaelson admits to loving the "comfy" life.

She and her husband, fellow musician Greg Laswell, like to spend time sleeping in on weekends, hanging out in Starbucks, making late night dinners, and hanging out on their big comfortable couch.

I’ll take comfort over fancy forever: I think that’s what sets me apart from Lady Gaga!

Ingrid Michaelson and Greg Laswell met on tour at a show they were both doing in upstate New York about five years ago. Although both share the same profession, they are careful to keep their home life and work life separate. Laswell recognizes that they may have an overlap in their audience, but their musical skills rarely come together.

 It’s funny because we don’t do music at all when we’re both home. It’s the last thing we ever think of doing. We usually just hang out, go to dinner and watch movies. It’s a very separate thing with us.

The song, "Landline" was the exception to the rule. Riding out a storm, sitting in a church in Maine, Michaelson and Laswell started playing around with the music and lyrics which eventually became the hit song they recorded together.

All I ever needed was a landline, just in case the power lines go down.

Ingrid Michaelson and Greg Laswell were married in Maine in August 2011. Maybe they both found all that they ever needed.

http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?p=107593062