This installation that was in the lobby of Ogilvy & Mather NY during the week of President Obama's inauguration. I enjoyed seeing this every time I entered and exited the building. (Yes, I am sure some people weren't as enthused as I was. But this post isn't about them, now is it?)
Way to get excited about going to work :)
This is Stephen Sherman. He's a WWII veteran who was profiled in a Washington Post article by Dan Morse this week.
I love and admire military servicemen, anyone who chooses to serve our great country. Whenever I see a man or woman in uniform, I try to pay my respects, to thank them for serving and sacrificing.
On Sunday, January 18, 2009, after leaving the opening ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial, I saw Mr. Sherman, 88, sitting in front of the Institute of Medicine. His veterans cap was the first thing I noticed, all decked out with medals and decals. I made a beeline to say hello.
We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, both overjoyed to be taking part in such a momentous occasion. We shared phone numbers and email addresses, then promised to keep in touch. We have already spoken once by phone.
Mr. Sherman's story is not unusual. He, like many from his generation, never thought he'd live to see the day when a minority would become president. It was his personal mission to get to D.C. to witness it for himself. As reported in the article, Mr. Sherman requested cash in lieu of gifts for his last birthday so that he could pay for his trip to Barack Obama's inauguration. Having raised the funds, he flew from Los Angeles by himself. Once in the capital, he navigated the Metro system and found his way to the National Mall by himself. A true sign of determination and fortitude, in my opinion. (D.C.'s streets and Metro system have confounded me for years!)
This is more than just a story about meeting a veteran who went to the inauguration. It's an example of the excitement, familiarity and comraderie that was prevalent the entire weekend. We were a community of 2 million +. There was hardly a stranger among us. We laughed, we woo-hooed, we cried, we danced, we hi-fived, we ate, we drank, we lent a hand, we gave directions, we served, we listened, we sang, we celebrated – together.
Mr. Sherman described it best: "That's the way I always wanted to see America."
And that is why I braved single-digit temperatures, walked miles, and stood for hours. To experience the greatness of humanity, brother- and sisterhood, America. This was not the time to watch it from the sidelines.
And, again, thank you for your service, Mr. Sherman.
It is apparent to me that making new friends is easier online, especially on Twitter, where connecting with like-minded individuals is as simple as clicking a button. Conversations are very short and usually concise. They have to be, since you have to get your point across in 140 characters or less.
But given that the Twitterverse is still populated with humans, a natural curiosity about one another develops. The usual protocol is to follow people’s posts on Twitter. Sometimes you can tell after just a few posts if you’re going to “like” a person. With less verbose twitterers, it can take a little longer. An even better way is to check out someone’s blog to get a better sense of what they’re about.
A lot of really smart and funny people have blogs. I enjoy reading them for the learning and the laughs. I never felt the need to join the blogger masses, but recently felt that I have some important stuff to say, too. (Probably because of the learning.) All I needed was an interesting way to get started.
The other day Charlie Fern, a fellow twitterer and really cool person, posted a meme on her blog. It’s quite humorous. (When done properly, a meme is a fun way to share interesting, and perhaps odd, tidbits about oneself.) She then tagged me to do the same on my blog, thereby providing me a pretty cool way to launch. So without further ado…
I am proud of being named after Ms. Giovanni, and of the somewhat backhanded way it happened. She’s now a professor of writing and literature at Virginia Tech. I had the pleasure of meeting her when she gave a reading at Clemson University during my graduate school days. I was asked to escort her from the reading to the location where she was to sign books. The crowd was impossible to navigate, so I found a less congested and quieter way to get there, which incidentally allowed us to chat for a few minutes. I struggled between being professional and telling her the story of how I got my name. Of course I told her, and she laughed and thought it was great. We bonded.
2. J’aime toutes les choses francaises. So much so that I should not have to work on Bastille Day. But for all this love of all things French, I've never been to France, or Quebec or even the French Quarter in New Orleans. Nor am I fluent, though I’ve studied the language on and off since 1985. I dream of living in France, for at least six months. I think it can happen. I keep up with current events there, going so far as to read French blogs, follow French news via @le_figaro on Twitter. I even watch Le Journal, and sometimes listen to RFI (Radio France Internationale) online. People have asked me what I will do while there. I get funny looks when I say "visit cemeteries" – like Montmartre, Montparnasse and Pere Lachaise. Some literary, art and music legends are buried there.
3. In the summer of ’07, I went on a safari in Paraa, Uganda. We spent hours photographing animals from wild boar to hippos to giraffe. As the day turned to dusk, I was half-sitting on top of the van taking pictures when we passed a lone elephant about 30 ft. from the road. The driver slowed to a stop to let us get a good shot. The guides advised us to turn off our flashes, but a handful of people didn't heed the warning. There was the steady click-click-click-click-click and quick bursts of light from all the cameras – it looked kind of paparazzi-ish. This of course annoyed the elephant. It started flapping its trunk and gave a gigantic roar that I’m sure could be heard for miles. And then it turned and headed toward us. The driver floored the van, with me still partly on top. I fell, fortunately inside and not sideways off the van altogether. Unfortunately, my fabulous sunglasses were broken during the melee. They are memorialized in my profile picture.
4. I am a member of the gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-intolerant society. My diet consists of more quinoa than I care to discuss. Thanks to my nutritionist and life coach Gianna, and a wicked case of acid reflux, I have had to give up a lot of food favorites: Swiss Rolls, Snicker bars, all Sara Lee goodies, flour pasta, tomato-based sauces and white wine. But one thing I will not give up is fried okra - seasoned, cornmeal breaded, deep fried okra. A definite nod to my southern roots. Bring on the Prevacid.
5. A week before my college graduation in December 1995, I met the 49ers. THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS. They were playing the Charlotte Panthers, who played their entire inaugural season at Clemson’s stadium. Long, long ago I was interested in sports marketing and worked all the sporting events for a couple of years. This was my last day as an employee. After the game, I got to talk to George Seifert, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Bryant Young, Ken Norton (I unsuccessfully tried to barter for his black cowboy hat). Steve Young gave me the biggest bear hug! They were all so nice to me, and congratulated me on my graduation. As they loaded the bus to leave, I realized that I’d forgotten to take pictures. But I did get the team t-shirt!
6. I may be the last American standing who has never been to Disneyland – either in Florida or California. I’m not sure why. I have nothing against Mickey and all his friends. But I do have a strong aversion to long lines and people singing and dancing in the streets.
7. I love to go hiking. The more challenging the better. One summer when I was still living in South Carolina, some friends and I wanted to try out a new trail. One of the girls didn’t have sneakers so I let her wear mine, and I wore flip flops. Dumb, I know. But we were going to stick to the path, so it shouldn't have been a problem. About 15 minutes in, I heard water and wanted to find the stream. I figured it couldn’t be too far away. I convinced the group to leave the trail in search of the creek. Down, down, down we went. For nearly half an hour. In flip flops. But we found it. And it was beautiful and cool. And worth it. Until it was time for the climb back up. In flip flops. After it was all over, I think my stock rose among my friends. I rocked that day.
So know you know more about me than you probably wanted to. But hey, it was fun, right? The rules of the meme game specify that I must ask seven others to participate. I have chosen them because I look forward to reading their tweets and blogs and think that they’re probably really cool people, too. They are:
1. Hrag Vartanian (@hragvartanian)
2. Julie Roads (@writingroads)
3. Julia Roy (@juliaroy)
4. Leeah Otis (@leeahotis)
5. PR Sarah Evans (@PRSarahevans)
6. Kristin Maverick (@kmaverick)
7. Rachel Sklar (@rachelsklar)
So, to the 7, here are the rules:
* Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
* Share seven facts about yourself in the post - some random, some weird.
* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
* Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.
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