Words from a Reader

The “Writing Life Stories” e-mails I receive are such treasures. As soon as I see there is one in my inbox, I read it immediately. I look forward to them and never know how they will touch me. They can be interesting, informative, humorous, and/or touching.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Admiring the Life of Dr. Angelou

Written on Sunday, June 1.
I have enjoyed Oprah's replay of Maya Angelou's interviews  on OWN. I am always amazed at how far the famous poet came from being abandoned by her own mother until she was ten years old, to being lauded by people all over the world. In an interview on NPR she said she didn't blame her mother at all for sending  her and her brother to live with her grandmother when they were small kids. This  had to be after she was raped by her mother's boyfriend at the age of five. She was mute a number of  years after that violation.The children were put on the train with a note attached to  them saying where they were to get off in a  state  many miles away.She  said the  porters on  the train made sure they reached their destination.

When I hear her story and other stories like hers, I realize how blessed I was to have a wonderful mother and family, all through my childhood. How can I complain, even now, when someone like Dr. Angelou, who had the deck stacked against her, overcame such hardships to get an education and go on to make a difference in the world. 

This has been the weekend for me to observe and not participate. That is unusual for me as I am almost always working on something. But I think I need this time to contemplate my own life and where I will go from here. I have made one thing the meaningful part of my life since  Barry  died, and that has left me fragile. I will pursue more meaningful things. What will that be? I'll have to figure that out. First I have to get strong and healthy again.
Stay with me, my blogging friends. I appreciate you so much. 

4 comments:

  1. I'm not going anywhere, don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself as you ponder your life. Sending you big virtual hugs. Thanks for the memories of Maya. I can't receive OWN or I would watch it. It's probably just as well, since I spend too much time in front of the TV as it is. :-)

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  2. Thank you for that brief look at Maya Angelou's life. I read one of her memoirs a couple of years ago. I think it was called Mom and Me and Mom. It talked about her relationship with her mother through the years. It was an audiobook narrated by the author. I hope you have a relaxing, reflective weekend.

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  3. Maya Angelou was a genius. We have lost a voice of caring.

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  4. Hi all, and thanks for your comments. Ed Southern wrote a wonderful tribute to Dr. Angelou on the ncwriters.org blog. He interviewed her when he was a kid in college. How neat is that?
    I am feeling some better tonight but can't stay long at the computer. Thanks for all your good wishes. They mean so much.

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