The 100 Most Influential People in the World

Every year Time Magazine puts out their 100 Most Influential People in the World issue.  It came to our house a couple of weeks ago - and I've finally finished reading all 100 bios.

Titan, Kanye West

Why would it take so long?  Because I don't know most of the people.  This is either because Time Magazine got it wrong or because I've never heard of most of the most influential people in the world - and that's humbling.

They are in five categories.  So in this very special issue Time has five covers.   Interestingly, most of the bios are written by equally influential people.  Following is a little countdown of folks I've actually heard of and most of whom I admire (Except for the Titans - I have problems with most of them):

Pioneer, Misty Copeland

1.  TITANS - These are the ten richest, most powerful people in the world.  They include Kanye West, Loren Michaels (with bio by Jack Nicholson), The Koch Brothers, and Kim Kardashian (with bio by Martha Stewart.)

2.  PIONEERS - They include Astronaut Scott Kelly (with bio by John Glenn.)  Scott, as I hope you know, is going to spend a year in outer space to see, in part, how this changes the human body.  His identical twin brother Mark will stay here with us as part of the test.

Artist, Bradley Cooper

Other pioneers are Ballerina Misty Copeland, Neuroscientist, Rudolph Tanzi who is an Alzheimer's pioneer (with bio by Maria Shriver) and human rights activist, Bryan Stevenson (with bio by Serena Williams.)

Leader, Jorge Ramos (with
bio by Christiane Amanpour,
my career idol)

3.  ARTISTS - Actor Bradley Cooper made the cover (with bio by Oliver Platt.)  I loved him in the important mental health themed film "Sliver Linings Playbook."  Others on the list whom I admire are Julianna Moore and John Oliver.


4.  LEADERS - President Barack Obama, of course made the list.  And I was fascinated and frightened by the bio on Vladimir Putin.  I was not surprised to see Jeb Bush, my former governor on the list.  While I don't agree with some of his views, it is my opinion that he is the best of the Bushs.  And two of our world wide female heavy hitters, Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton were
listed.

Icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

5.  ICONS  - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made the cover (with bio by Antonin Scalia)  and, of course, Pope Francis.  I totally don't understand how Taylor Swift and Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) made the list.  But they did.

So there you have it.  Along with the others that make up a total of 100, these are the people who will shape our future.








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Another "Why We Love Florida" Story

As you know, I love sharing Central Florida stories.  The latest to go viral took place at our exclusive, luxury (staring at $300 per night) Hard Rock Hotel.  This place is special to me because several of my family members love to eat at the Palm Restaurant (home of the 3 pound lobster) which is located inside the hotel. 

Hard Rock Hotel Orlando

So I was more than interested to learn that, a couple of days ago, an extremely drunk 41 year old British tourist was caught urinating in the ice machine at the Hard Rock.  Apparently he was pretty belligerent so police were called and he spent the night in jail. 

The only disappointing part of this story is that it wasn't a Floridian misbehaving.  It was a tourist.  We count on our tourists to be laid back and courteous, especially British tourists, and let us do the crazy stuff.  

By the way, you'll be happy to know that the ice machine was removed.  So welcome back to the Hard Rock.


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The Rollins Corpse Plant

There's an exciting thing happening at nearby Rollins College.  The corpse plant bloomed on Sunday night.  This happens only once every 10 to 12 years.  And the bloom lasts for only 36 hours before beginning to fade.

Why the name?  The corpse plant smells like a decomposing body.  It smells like rotting flesh.  So people must avoid it at all costs, right?  You know better.  They've been lining up since Sunday trying to get a sniff.

Dave and the corpse.

And there's a 24 hour web cam in the Rollins greenhouse for those of us who can't find a parking spot.  But nothing deterred Dave and his friend Dave this morning.  They saw it and smelled it.
However, since it's Tuesday and the corpse is beginning to fade, they missed out on the truly disgusting, revolting, stomach turning odor.

Darn!

A native of Sumatra, the corpse plant (or Amorphophallus Titanom) was first grown by humans in London in 1889.  Since then there have been less than 200 around the world.  

So I'm proud Dave got to get a little whiff.


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Fascinated With Names

Yesterday at church the members of our 2015 Confirmation Class were officially brought into the church.  We had 61 boys and girls, approximately 11 to 12 years old confirmed at three different services. 

It was thrilling to see these beautiful children, having come through many weeks of learning and growing spiritually, stand before us.  

As I looked down the list of 61 names I tried to find similarities.  Usually there are some but I saw only one theme this time.  

I've shared before that the year my son Scott was born - many other Scotts were born.  In our Forum class, with members all close to my age, there are four Davids.  

There were no Scotts or Davids on yesterday's confirmation list.  There were several biblical names, including two of my favorites, Elizabeth and Paul.  There were two girls named Grace.  While not a biblical name as such, Grace has a deep spiritual meaning.  

There were old fashioned names like Isabella and new names like Rees (a common Welsh last name but an unusual first name).   But, as I said, only one trend.

There were four Peytons!  Now what caused that?

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Bumper Stickers

Decades ago when I was a consultant I  sometimes referred to  bumper stickers as a way of intro ducting ourselves to the world.  "What do you think about a person whose bumper sticker says 'Work Sucks?'"

Social media has ramped this up big time.  We can totally mess ourselves up globally with our Facebook posts.   We all know the dangers of making ourselves look like losers on social media but we still do it.  I don't know why.

All this to say, on Monday Dave and I went out to lunch.  We parked beside a nice looking Jeep Wrangler.  It was covered with bumper stickers.  It could be that the driver is great in all ways - but what would you think about him or her from this initial introduction?


Looks like this is a person who still likes to make a statement "old school. "


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The Dinner Party

Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party

Yesterday my book club discussed Sue Monk Kidd's book about the Grimke sisters, "The Invention of Wings."  (I wrote a posting on this book called "Abolition Women" on March 22nd.)

Along with the book, our excellent facilitator  invited us to discuss Judy Chicago's sculpture "The Dinner Party." What is it?  First off, Judy Chicago is a feminist artist sometimes noted for vaginal forms in her work.  "The Dinner Party" has plenty of vaginal symbolism.

Table Setting for Susan B. Anthony

It's an icon of the 1970s feminist art table (triangle) with 36 place settings honoring women throughout human history who were smart, brave "take no prisoners" kind of gals.  In addition, the floor and walls show us 999 additional women who changed things for us, again from pre-history to the 20th century .

The Floor

Of the 36 at the dinner party, most of them were writers. The following five are my favorites:

Hildegard of Bingen - 1098-1179.   Hildegard was a nun who couldn't be contained.  She saw visions.  She was a writer at a time when nobody could read.  She wrote three volumes of visionary theology, two on medicine and the oldest surviving morality play "Ordo Virtum."  And, oh yeah, she invented two languages.

Anna Maria van Schurman - 1607-1678  Anna Maria was a German born Dutch painter, engraver, poet, scholar and defender of female education.   She spoke 14 languages.

Mary Wollstonecraft - 1759-1797  Mary was a writer, philosopher and advocate for women's rights.  She died at age 38 and was not fully recognized for her work partly because of her unorthodox lifestyle. (She had a couple of affairs.)  Mary's daughter, Mary Shelly wrote the novel Frankenstein. 

Sojourner Truth - 1797-1883  Sojourner started out a slave but became an early abolitionist and women's rights activist.  Look up her "Ain't I a Woman?" speech if you want to be amazed by Sojourner Truth.

Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886  Emily lived her life as pretty much of a recluse but her poetry still changes lives - including mine.

Sarah and Angelinia Grimke did not make it to the table but their names are written on the floor.


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Selma - the Movie

SELMA

I did not want to see "Selma."  I managed to avoid it when it was showing at the Regal and AMC theaters.  I knew, of course, I should see it, however I didn't want to.  But last month was the 50 year anniversary of the march so yesterday Dave and I went to our little neighborhood theater and saw "Selma."

I did not enjoy it.  It was painful clear through.

As you probably know, almost no African Americans were allowed to vote in some southern states in 1965.  It was an unsafe place to live for anybody who bucked the system.  In March of 1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,  led about 8,000 people on a 54 mile, 5 day march from Selma to Montgomery,  Alabama.  Prior to this walk many of the potential walkers were savagely beaten.  Some were beaten to death.

As a result of the march, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of legislation.

If you're one of those people who wonders what all the fuss is about regarding Martin Luther King, Jr., this film shows the essence of the man.  It faithfully depicts his beliefs, his words, his strengths and his weaknesses.

The film "Selma" does an excellent job of telling us what happened.  I can understand why it was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards.

 I did not want to see "Selma."  It met all of my expectations.  It was terrifying.  You would think it wouldn't be so hard after 50 years but this is the cover of the Time Magazine that came to my house yesterday.


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Hug a Teacher and a Nosey Neighbor

This morning in FORUM we discussed who influenced us as we were growing up.  It was the introduction to a several session class on "40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents."  This has to do, basically, with why some kids from bad homes excel in life and why some kids from good, well-to-do homes don't.

So our leaders asked us who, besides our parents, helped shape us for the good.  The overwhelming answers were teachers and nosey neighbors.

One woman told about sneaking on lipstick after she left home and her parents knowing about it before she got to school.

The point is that we have no idea what kind of good we're doing when we look out for a kid - or anybody else.

Afterwards I had lunch with a teacher and I was happy to share the above with her.  She then told me a wonderful story of a kid she had in her second grade class who grew up and went to college only to discover his favorite professor was married to his favorite second grade teacher.   He was thrilled.

This must be one of the biggest perks of teaching.... having students remember you forever as someone who changed their lives.

And sometimes all we have going for us as kids are good teachers and nosey neighbors.


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Food Obsssion

I, like most other people, am obsessed with food.

My little brother, Paul, is having health problems.  I'm not one bit happy about it.  He's been having trouble eating but the last time I talked with him he was finally hungry.  So, instead of talking about his health,  we talked about what he'd like to have for lunch.

 I asked him to name all the things he likes to order from Steak 'n Shake.  One was vegetable soup.  I allowed as how I would not waste my time on vegetable soup at Steak 'n Shake.

Fortunately for me, my food obsession goes well with my numbers obsession.  I pretty much know how many calories go into my body each day.  This morning we went to First Watch for breakfast.  This is a wildly popular breakfast/brunch/lunch restaurant with 100 restaurants in 15 states.  On weekends the line is always out the door.

First Watch does have some items on the menu that are good for you.  I saw one titled "Not Guilty, Your Honor" but I don't know what it is because I'm not interested.  (It's kind of like ordering vegetable soup at Steak 'n Shake.)

Tri Fecta at First Watch

Dave and I had the Tri Fecta.  Yummy.  Two eggs, two slices of thick bacon and one giant banana, granola pancake with butter and syrup.  The calorie count on this thing comes in between 12 and 15 hundred calories.

We split it - but I still have a stomach ache.  And that's a good thing because I have very few calories to waste for the rest of the day.


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To Be Or Not

You know that I like to memorize great poems, including Psalms, from time to time.  But it's becoming more challenging.  A few weeks ago I decided to take on Hamlet's soliloquy.  It's tough.  Don't know that I'll succeed - but it's given me much to think about.

This guy, Hamlet, is wondering about what it's like on the other side.  He, like me, has some bad dreams.  What if dying turns out to be one long nightmare?

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

What if eternity is just a rehash of all the ways I've messed up in this life?  Yikes.

Be all my sins remembered.

But I don't normally think this way.  I have faith that eternity will be sweet.  Although, as you know, I'm short on details.  But when I have those awful dreams I still wonder, until my heart quits racing, if this is what it would be like to be in a coma or to have serious dementia.  But it probably has more to do with what I had to eat.

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The Man Who Invented Radar

Everybody has a story.  The older we get, the more stories we have...but people tend to think the opposite.   "What do old folks know about anything?"  Especially technology.  Our friend, Pat, is part of the "Greatest Generation."  He's 93.  He was, and is, a United States Marine.  He served in World War II.

But he didn't do battle in the traditional sense.  He went to Auburn University (before it was called Auburn.)  He was then tapped by the Marines.  They sent him to study at Harvard and MIT.

Then on to work on something so new and classified that it was top secret.  It was called "radar."  Pat didn't invent it - but he worked on it.

Later on he designed missile programs.  What he was most proud of was designing a non nuclear missile system.  It could take out a missile.

He's just an old man with a cane - but he went from being a teenage school janitor to changing our defense system.

Everybody has a story.  How cool is that?

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Dazzled!

In the play, The Rainmaker, Lizzie is talking to Starbuck about looking at her dad and seeing him "for real."  I wasted way too much time yesterday trying to find the quote to share with you but, sadly, I did not.  Here is the part I remember:

Some nights I'm in the kitchen washing the dishes and pop's playing poker with the boys.  Well, I watch him real close...

Lizzie goes on to say that, as she pays attention to every physical detail -  it makes her love her pop so much she could cry.

My friend, Jan Richardson is a beautiful women.  She's an artist, a writer and a minister.  She's very spiritual.  Some have called her woo woo.  In this Lenten season she's shared an on line retreat called "Beloved, An Online Journey into Lent and Easter."

In week 3 of Jan's Journey she emphasized our bodies.  What?  Here are a couple of excerpts:

What if we could see each other the way God does?

What if we could see ourselves the way God does?

What if we opened our eyes?

In Genesis, we learn quickly that our seeing has consequences.  After Eve and Adam eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the first they do is look at each other.

The second thing they do is cover up.  

then the eyes of both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked.
-Genesis 3:7

...what if it wasn't shame that drove them to dress themselves?  What if it was beauty?  What if they clothed themselves not because they were embarrassed by their bodies but because they were dazzled?

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If you're interested in Jan's work, or being part of future retreats, look up Jan Richardson.