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National Museum Month
Some comments on
National Museum Month
Thinking about May
being National Museum Month brought memories of some of the very special
museums I have had the good fortune to visit.
Here are a few, in no special order, with a few comments:
This museum has always been special to me. When Jan and her
brother were children, we spent many weeks in the summer in San Diego. Of
course, they always wanted to go to the zoo.
And… we did, but we always stopped at the National History Museum before
entering the zoo. I have great memories of those summer holidays. They became
even more special when my twenty-seven year old grandson, who lives in San
Diego, told me that he often visits the same museum and how much he enjoys it.
This was one of the most fascinating and well-designed
museums I have ever toured. I found the maritime displays magnificently displayed.
I had the very scary privilege of visiting this museum.
‘Scary’ because I am very claustrophobic, and when I entered the museum, I
realized that it was seven stories….down.
I managed to make it through and discovered wonderful ancient Chinese
treasures. It was well worth my claustrophobic moments.
The Louvre was absolutely breath taking as I walked in
stocking feet, as required at that time, through this magnificent museum. I most
especially enjoyed standing before the Mona Lisa painting.
In the Department of Mineral Sciences, I was able to view the
Hope Diamond in all its glory.
I’m not sure this can be called a ‘museum’, but it seemed
very much like one to me. I am probably the only person who lost a contact lens
at this historic edifice.
I hope you have enjoyed
this brief tour of some of the wonderful museums I have visited. Do yourself a
favor and tour a museum in May.
By Lois Jamieson
If you enjoyed reading this inspirational Kids Without Stuff
post, you will want to read:
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9 Great Graduation Quotes
Graduation Quotes to Make You Think
With graduation just around the corner, I wanted to post some of my favorite graduation quotes. Enjoy!
1.
“Do
not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a
trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
2.
“The
future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor
Roosevelt
3.
“Go
confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
Henry David Thoreau
4.
“What
lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies
within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
5.
“It
is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw
our strength to live and our reasons for living.” Simone De Beauvoir
6.
“Whatever
you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace,
and power in it.” Julia Cameron
7.
“Since
you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are
incomparable.” Brenda Ueland
8.
“It
may be those who do most, dream most.” Stephen Leacock
9.
“We
grow by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a
spring day, or in the read fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let
these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through
bad days till they bring them to the light which comes always to those who
sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.” Woodrow Wilson
For all of the 2012 graduates, here
are my words of wisdom:
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Say
please and thank you
·
Show
up on time (always)
·
Finish
what you start
·
Make
a difference in the world
·
Be
kind to animals, children and the elderly
·
Send
thank you notes
·
Always tell
the truth
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A Friend is a Friend
A Friend is a Friend, is a Friend, is a Friend
What is a friend?
“I’ll tell you. It is a person with
whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can go naked with him. He seems to ask
you to put on nothing. Only to be what you really are. He does not want you to
be better or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has
been declared innocent. You do not have to be on guard. You can say what you
think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in
your nature that cause others to misjudge you. With him you breathe free – you
can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your
meanness and absurdities, and in opening them up to him they are lost,
dissolved on the white ocean of his loyalty.”
“He understands. You do not have to
be careful. You can abuse him, neglect him or tolerate him. Best of all, you
can keep still with him. It makes no difference. He loves you. He is like fire
that purges all you do. He is like water that cleanses all that you say. He is
like wine that warms you to the bone. He understands. You can weep with him,
laugh with him and pray with him.”
“Through and underneath it all he
sees, knows and loves you.
A friend, I repeat, is one with whom you dare to be
yourself.”
This definition of a
friend comes from an unknown author. I found it in the 1975 Farmers’ Almanac.
I will add a question
and an answer to it. Do you have just
such a friend? I do, and it is my husband of fifty-nine years.
By Lois Jamieson
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Reading Is Fun
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on
Treasure Island.” Walt Disney
Reading is Fun Week: April
14 – 20
One of my favorite memories of volunteering at StarShine is
reading to the Kindergarten class.
The Kindergarten classroom is located in an annex building on
the new campus. The new library is there, too.
I always enjoy sharing
books with Mr. Dan’s Kindergarten class. The children sit on a carpet and give me their rapt
attention. Mr. Dan erects a small barrier just in front of me, so that when I
finish the book the children don’t knock me over with their hugs.
Believe me it has happened!
Although I spend a lot of time bringing just the right book,
with lots of pictures, it doesn’t seem to matter. The kids just love when I
read to them. No matter what type of animal story I bring, the kids all tell me
that they have an animal just like the one in the book at home.
This year, the first time I finished reading to the
kindergarten children, a little voice came out of the back, “Can we hug you
now?”
How great is that!
I’m hoping all of the Kindergarten students have had time to
visit the new library and the “Book Nook,” where they can sit on colorful
little chairs and be surrounded by shelves filled with books.
Yes, reading can be a
lot of fun!
I have been reading books since I was five years old, and now
here I am at 82. I never miss a chance to sit down with a good book or share
one of my favorite books with a child.
By Lois Jamieson
If you enjoyed reading
this inspirational story about the joys of volunteering, you will want to read:
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7 Magnificent Monday Quotes
Quotes and thoughts to
make the first day of your week brighter:
1.
“Life’s
rewards go to those who let their actions rise above their excuses.” Lee J.
Colan
2.
“Life
will be to a large extent what we ourselves make of it.” Samuel Smiles
3.
“When
work, commitment, and pleasure all become one, and you reach that deep well
where passion lives, nothing is impossible.” Anonymous
4.
“If
you don’t love what you do, you have two choices. You can either change what you’re
doing or you can change what you love.” Billy Cox
5.
“The
happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence, but in the
mastery, of his passions.” Alfred Lord Tennyson
6.
“If
you can dream it, you can do it. Never lose sight of the fact that this whole
thing was started by a mouse.” Walt Disney
7.
“There
is a time when we must firmly choose the course we will follow, or the
relentless drift of event will make the decision for us.” Herbert B. Prochnow
Have a magnificent Monday and a wonderful week!
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