And another story from Painting with Footprints.
A check for $125 winging its way to Union Settlement. Thanks for all writers that took the time and effort to write a story. If your story took as long as mine did, it amounts to about $.25 an hour, generous wages for the thirties. You are the best!
This is a topic I have been kicking around all week, asking my book group, dinner partners, everyone we have made contact with--who do you admire?
Who are you a fan of? It doesn't
have to be a perfect person and you do not have to be a fan because someone is a world class philanthropist.Either living or dead counts. Just someone who inspires you in some area.
I am just going to choose two because after that it become an avalanche.
Hillary Clinton, who got lemons and made lemonade. Despite disappointment in her marriage, and in 2008 as a candidate for the Presidency, she went on to be a terrific and tireless Secretary of State. She supported the man who defeated her with, at least public, full-hearted support. She is smart and an advocate for many important causes.
Jeff Daniels, who has done so much to support the state of Michigan and the City of Detroit, by remaining here, opening a fantastic theater which performs plays from local writers and has outreach programs for kids, doing fund-raising for various local causes, being a spokesperson for the State. And for defying our notion of actors as being narcissistic. No one in Michigan is not a fan of Jeff's.
And
Randy Johnson chooses North Carolina congressman Brad Miller(Democrat) who helped displaced workers.
Charles Gramlich, his wife and fellow writers and bloggers
George Kelley, Chan Gailey, Buffalo Bills Head Coach & writers who take on difficult topics
Chris LeTray, ,Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia
Jeff M. Paul Newman
Kitty, Her mother
21 comments:
North Carolina congressman Brad Miller(Democrat). I remember some years back when the county's largest employer(at one time), Fieldcrest Cannon(never could stand the last name, Pillowtex), went out of business.
Miller came to Eden several times to work with the union, listen, try to help displaced workers repair shattered lives.. He came alone while at the same time our good Senator Elizabeth Dole(Republican) arrived at the company headquarters in Kannapolis with an army of photographers for those all-important photo-ops(an election was coming up soon you know; thank God she lost overwhelmingly), then breezing out of town at the quickest opportunity, never to be heard from again.
One cared and one only cared how it could help her.
I hear he's one the Republicans have targeted extra effort in the next election to get out of office.
I tend not to admire folks in the public eye. I admire my wife, Lana, for all she does. I admire many of my fellow bloggers and writers who toll for .25 cents an hour or less and yet who put out lovingly developed work.
The most admired man in Buffalo is Chan Gailey, Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills. Most fans initially thought Gailey was a weak choice and preferred Big Name Coaches like Bill Cowher (who turned down the job). I also admire writers who write about difficult topics like Joan Didion. I can't wait to read BLUE NIGHTS.
First name that popped into my head is Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. This is a guy who made his living, and built a company, to support doing what he loves (climbing, fishing, etc.). The company has been innovative in being "green" (back when it actually meant something), has great environmental initiatives, etc. Plus he's still going strong as an active outdoorsman into his 70s. I particularly admire that last bit.
Paul Newman and others like him who really give back, and don't do it for self-aggrandizement or publicity.
Jeff M.
My two grandsons absolutely love Jeff Daniels' movie Escanaba in da Moonlight. I had never heard of it until an acquaintance from Detroit recommended it for my son-in-law who's an avid hunter.
I admire my late mother for her courage. Ironically, she never considered herself strong or courageous, but she was. Whenever I think something is too difficult, I think of my mother who faced greater problems than I have.
I have to love those who show me full hearted and true friendship, despite them being in the public eye. The entire members of starkid really show this, they are famous, they are loved, they could follow this, search for this but they just keep on being friends having fun.
Aside from my friends, (many though by no means all of my extended) family and my friendly acquaintances, and all the strengths and virtues they have that I can only envy (at very least to the extent they display them), I admire Noam Chomsky (and such predecessors in both the sciences and attempts to further human freedom and community as Peter Kropotkin and Linus Pauling and that Einstein guy) and Sonia Johnson (as eccentric as her passage might've become, she earned my respect and admiration, at least), Emma Goldman (on so many fronts simultaneously) and Martin Luther King, Jr. The writers Avram Davidson and Joanna Russ, too (surprise!), and the floodgates are indeed barely containing Borges and Leiber and Brackett and Parker and so many others. And I didn't even get to the musicians.
Cool post. I'll go with Louie CK, the comedian. In my opinion, he's the best at what he does. He also always helps out other comedians, leaves everything on the stage, writes new material constantly and takes care of his children. But mostly he's incredibly funny and honest and I have a lot of respect for that.
His show was the most original comedy in a long time. Scary, smutty, sweet and stunning.
It's still on. Unless you're referring to LUCKY LOUIE on HBO, which wasn't quite up to the current LOUIS on FX...though somewhat similar.
Funny that I'm incapable of spelling my hero's name... Anywho, his show does indeed rock. A good example of a very different breed of comedy and of Louis CK just following his own vision.
Just a few. I admire a lot of people. Patti Abbott included.
Sir John Gielgud
Albert Einstein
Charlie Rose
Hillary Clinton
Abraham Lincoln
Arthur Ashe
Rex Stout
Michelangelo
Leonardo DaVinci
collage artist Mary Granville Delany
Artist Domenica Moore Gordon
Michelle Merletto, dog rescue champion
My daughter
The current season has ended so I used "was." Great list, Yvette. No disagreement here. And right back at you.
Hitlery? Yuck! In fact very few current politicians would make my list.
Jonas Salk, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill, Edith Piaf, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, my girls, and my granddaughter.
I am a fan of anyone who can make me laugh. Here are 20 people and a few extras who have me in splits every time I listen to their one-liners, read their books or watch their movies...
Mark Twain
Buster Keaton
Laurel & Hardy
Groucho Marx
P.G. Wodehouse
Charles Chaplin
George Burns
S.J. Perelman
Richard Armour
Mel Brooks
Walter Matthau
Art Buchwald
Woody Allen
Bette Midler
Rodney Dangerfield
Bill Cosby
Alan Alda
John Cleese
Rowan Atkinson
Whoopi Goldberg
Extras: Stephen Fry, Lily Tomlin, Hugh Laurie, Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and Ray Romano
Great lists. Jonas Salk would have been my third choice. And Paul Newman my fourth.
Can you imagine inventing a cure for polio and taking no money for it?
Not likely to happen now.
Hillary has my approval for finding a way to be successful in her own right.
Homer Simpson.
He loves his family.
He enjoys life.
He rejoices the simple or common things in life.
He deals with the usual daily troubles everyone has like getting locked into a massive, glass dome.
Embarrassingly, I have never watched an episode of THE SIMPSONS.
Larry Kramer - playwright, author and leading AIDS activist
Angelica Avila - the woman I tutored in English in a literacy program many years ago. Her primary language was Spanish and had little to no literacy in that language as well. Imagine trying to learn English without even knowing how to read Spanish! She started at a third grade reading level. By the end of the three year commitment she was at a high school reading level, took over her family's finances, and discovered her husband had been cheating her out of money for years. (They worked it out.) She went on to earn a high school equivalency degree and I'm sure is far more successful than I am by now. There's ambition and drive for you! If that's not inspirational I don't know what is.
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