Hillary Clinton is to be the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States.
One Liner Wednesday is hosted by Linda G Hill.
Historic
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Author Archives: Deborah Drucker
Girl’s Dreams
You voted for my admission to your medical college as a joke. I became the first woman to receive a degree as MD from an American college, Elizabeth Blackwell.
I worked as a teacher for nine years to save enough money to attend Oberlin College. I was a talented speaker but women were not allowed to participate in public debating. The college asked me to write the commencement address for my graduating class, but they asked a man to give the address not me, Lucy Stone.
I was first in my class at Columbia and one of nine women in my Harvard Law School class. After I graduated from Harvard I found out that women were not hired by most law firms. During my legal career I fought against gender bias in the workplace. I am the second woman to become a Supreme Court Justice of the United States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
I was the first student ever to be a speaker at a Wellesley College graduation ceremony. I was one of 27 women in my Yale Law School graduating class. I said, “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights..” I want to be the first woman to be President of the United States, Hillary Clinton.
This post is based on true stories. I am inspired by the possibility of having a woman President. Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers is hosted by Priceless Joy.
The Temperature At Which Books Burn
In Fahrenheit 451 the firemen do not put out fires, they set fire to books. Books were not allowed. What got me thinking about this story is a new book I am reading by Lisa See, Dreams of Joy. I just started it and do not know how it ends. So if you know, please don’t tell me. It is about a young Chinese American woman who is inspired by the communist revolution in China and decides to run away to China in search of her birth father and to work for the revolution. This is the time of the Red Guards, mobs who tortured and murdered people because they had “wrong” ideas, or somebody decided they didn’t like them. I did not realize that people would want to return to China during those times, but it seems some did. I keep thinking the character, Joy, in Lisa See’s story is so stupid. Maybe I will get to like her better later in the book. Her mother goes to China to find her. I identify with her mother. I can imagine how I would want to find my daughter and bring her home.
In Fahrenheit 451 a group of resisters decides to save books by memorizing them. The people become the books:
“I am Plato’s Republic. Mr. Simmons is Marcus. I want you to meet Jonathan Swift, the author of that evil political book, Gulliver’s Travels! And this other fellow is Charles Darwin, and-this one is Schopenhauer, and this one is Einstein, and this one here at my elbow is Mr. Albert Schweitzer, a very kind philosopher indeed. Here we all are, Montag. Aristophanes and Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha and Confucius and Thomas Love Peacock and Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Lincoln, if you please. We are also Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
One of people becomes David Copperfield, one of my favorite books:
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show…..”
Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “book.” Image of Fahrenheit 451 book cover by RA.AZ on Flickr. Last quote is from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
The View
Spring is here but there is still some snow on the ground. I take a break after my morning walk and my feet rest on the drifts. At least the sun is out and the view is good. It used to be that I never had time to walk in the mornings because I had a job. Since I was involuntarily unemployed at the beginning of the year, I have a lot of time on my hands, and not a lot of money. It’s a good thing that this bench with a view is free. Looking out over the calm water soothes my spirit. I think I will check those job listings again. Maybe there is one that’s just the right fit for me.
This is Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by Priceless Joy. Image courtesy of Barbara Taylor.
Full Court Press
Spotted this adorable video from Jukin Media in one of The Dodo’s posts. Had to share it. They do look like they are applying pressure with those stares. Like they’re saying:
OK , spill the beans!
Start talking!
What were you doing last Tuesday night?
Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “press.”
Down Time
We often enjoyed a drive along the coast in the evening after a stressful day of work. Seeing the water and the beautiful natural coastline always lifted me. It did not fail me today as I drove North on PCH. This would have been our fortieth anniversary. Well it still was except Jim wasn’t here to share it with me. He missed it by one month. This time I will not turn around and drive back home. I will continue driving all the way to Mendocino. I have rented a cottage there for a month. It was to be our anniversary trip.
This is my contribution to Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields who also provided the ocean image. I am thinking of another anniversary. May 25 is the 39th anniversary of the release of Star Wars in the US. It was the year I got married and started my own adventure.
May 25, 1977
A Parsnip of Pigeons
Amaze…. “Sense of “overwhelm with wonder” is from 1590s” (Thesaurus.com)
As I walked out my back door one early morn’
I was amazed by what I saw
An exaltation of larks
A tittering of magpies
A band of blue jays
A cacophony of crows
A convocation of eagles
A charm of hummingbirds
A kettle of hawks
A gulp of swallows
A parsnip of pigeons
An ostentation of peacocks
A parliament of owls
A pandemonium of parrots
And a flamboyance of flamingoes
I thought to myself
What was in that wild bird seed I bought?
*If you’re wondering about a parsnip of pigeons, I made it up. 🙂
This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt today is use a two letter word at the beginning and a bonus for using a two letter word at the end. Featured image: Brehms Teirleben Cockatiels painting via Wikimedia. And the collective nouns are inspired by James Lipton’s book ” An Exaltation of Larks,” which referenced ‘terms of venery’ from the Middle Ages. And that is where many of these collective nouns originated, the middle ages. Some could be recent inventions but I am not aware of the sources to credit other than a list on wikipedia 🙂
SOCS-Name the Day Mother’s Day
“The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother’s side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent.” -Erich Fromm
The umbilical cord is cut after a women gives birth to a child. I say there is an invisible cord that is never severed. A child does not understand this. The mother understands and knows this. She feels the attachment to her heart her whole life. When your children are away from you, the cord is stretched but never broken.
Happy Mother’s Day ❤
I am a parent, a mother. I am not sure if the intensity of feelings is the same for fathers or others. There are different kinds of parents, different genders of parents. But I can only speak for myself and say this is how I feel about being a mother/parent. I originally posted this last year for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. I think it is still relevant for this Mother’s Day. The prompt this year is “parent.”
May the 4th be with you!
Love May the 4th! On the Star Wars web site there is more fun stuff like Jabba the Hut marshmallow treats! My friend Jo Anna inspired me with her post below. I wanted to post some video but it won’t embed here so here’s a link:
Mr. Zoot Suit
Zoot Suits were a style in the 1940’s. Bright colored, long coats and baggy pants, wide brimmed hats with feathers. If you wore one you might be called “pachuco.” Or you might just like the music of Mr. Zoot Suit and want to dance.
This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Mr. Zoot Suit music via The Paradise Room on You Tube and Blast From The Past Clip via Richard D on You Tube. Prompt is “zoo.”
