Light A Candle

This past couple of weeks I watched Ken Burns "The Roosevelts".   What a great series!  My history lessons had a big whole in it, namely the 20th century.  Growing up in the south, history always seemed to end with the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.  The word carpetbagger came up a lot, I remember.  When I was in college, I took a lot of history classes. But again, 20th century history wasn't part of it.  "The Roosevelts" gave me an insight into the world that my grandparents came of age in, and the world that my parents were born into.  

Seeing the footage of World War I, the Depression and World War II gave me a greater appreciation for the challenges that my family members lived through.  It gave me a greater appreciation for the opportunities which came out of adversity, and the character that resulted.  And the work!  The hard, hard work that people did then to make ends meet.  The hard hard work that our people did to meet the evils of the time face on.  There are so many lessons there. 

In these past couple of months I have been making some changes in my house, and have also been thinking a lot while I wield a paint roller.  Deep thoughts about what the direction of our world is, and what it will hold for both my children, but particularly my autistic son.  The Roosevelts were an action oriented family!  Eleanor Roosevelt is an interesting character to read about, a woman who worked hard to make a difference in her world, which was very dark at times. She did this in a time when it was not natural for women to think and speak so boldly. 



I am still thinking, and still painting.  After I finish painting my cabinets I will return to art making.  But also I will be focusing on how to make a practical difference in this present world.  



2 comments:

Sherri Farley said...

I watched this wonderful series too & learned a great deal.

Dixie Redmond said...

It was so good!


"Do not let what you cannot do
keep you from doing what you can do."

John Wooden