Everyone who writes will have a different answer to that question. I can't come up with anything really new but I personally feel that as an "essayist", I would like to serve a higher purpose with my words and one of the things I like to do best is to use those words to enlighten. I don't beg anyone to read what I write. I find that it is very true that when we write, we learn so much about ourselves and so much about other people who share our space on the Earth.
My mother was light-years ahead of her time.She probably would have made an excellent beatnik or, later on, an incredible hippy. While I wasn't always thrilled about the fact that I had one of the few "working mothers" during my early years, I recognize now how extraordinary that was and how extraordinary she was if only for that decision. She became successful in her career but "in those days" she could only go so far. Her employment brought the family lots of benefits that we could see and many, many that were too subtle for us to realize at the time. I like to think that I am who I am today because of my mother and her courage. I know that in the final analysis, I did not miss out on anything because of her time away from the home and that I benefited in ways that many of my friends did not. My mother always had something interesting to talk about, stories from the workplace and always a wide variety of friends and business acquaintances who also graced the lives of her family. In addition to an appreciation for culture and the arts, my mother taught us an appreciation of human rights and for allowing that not everyone was the same and that people who were "different" were not to be feared. In fact, she was of the belief that those who held that belief were those who we should fear. And, if there was one thing she eschewed, it was "homophobia".
When I came across this, I viewed it many times. Not only did I find it to be a brilliant study in public speaking, but I found it to be an insightful expose, a window into a mind and a perfect lesson plan in action.
So, on this cold quiet morning, as I think of my mother for the umpteenth time, I share with you something that she would have truly enjoyed and I thank her again for giving me the courage to be enlightened and then to use my words to pass that along, especially to her future generations. Check it out, seriously. Her name is Panti Bliss and she's an Irish Drag Queen with a lot to say........if you listen.
My mother was light-years ahead of her time.She probably would have made an excellent beatnik or, later on, an incredible hippy. While I wasn't always thrilled about the fact that I had one of the few "working mothers" during my early years, I recognize now how extraordinary that was and how extraordinary she was if only for that decision. She became successful in her career but "in those days" she could only go so far. Her employment brought the family lots of benefits that we could see and many, many that were too subtle for us to realize at the time. I like to think that I am who I am today because of my mother and her courage. I know that in the final analysis, I did not miss out on anything because of her time away from the home and that I benefited in ways that many of my friends did not. My mother always had something interesting to talk about, stories from the workplace and always a wide variety of friends and business acquaintances who also graced the lives of her family. In addition to an appreciation for culture and the arts, my mother taught us an appreciation of human rights and for allowing that not everyone was the same and that people who were "different" were not to be feared. In fact, she was of the belief that those who held that belief were those who we should fear. And, if there was one thing she eschewed, it was "homophobia".
When I came across this, I viewed it many times. Not only did I find it to be a brilliant study in public speaking, but I found it to be an insightful expose, a window into a mind and a perfect lesson plan in action.
So, on this cold quiet morning, as I think of my mother for the umpteenth time, I share with you something that she would have truly enjoyed and I thank her again for giving me the courage to be enlightened and then to use my words to pass that along, especially to her future generations. Check it out, seriously. Her name is Panti Bliss and she's an Irish Drag Queen with a lot to say........if you listen.
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