A True Hero

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One of my older brothers recently texted me, “We need Hercules today.” This is a guy who spends most days standing in front of the United Nations in New York City with a sign that reads, Peace. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or if everyone is in agreement, but Disney just launched a whole new cruise ship dedicated to heroes, featuring Hercules, and after a three day float around the Bahamas, I would add my resounding yes, a true hero is exactly what we all need. For as Zeus told us, “A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.” We lucky ones know someone who fits this definition; I am so grateful that for me it is my younger brother who not only voiced the Disney Hercules but let me tag along on his working holiday aboard the Disney Destiny.

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Fairytale Greed

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If you are privileged enough not to know anyone whose SNAP benefits were cut or has been working for weeks unpaid or suffering any indignities caused by the Republican lead government shutdown, then I guess you should call yourself lucky. You clearly live in a different America than I do. Oddly enough, the Brothers Grimm fairytale, The Fisherman and his Wife was echoing around in my mind this week. According to Wikipedia, this tale of greed was collected by the brothers in 1812, and is considered an anti-fairytale due to its tragic ending. Like most Waldorf school moms, I read this story to my young children, but due to decades teaching Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse the haunting images of the angry sea in the fairytale have stayed with me as Woolf wove the two stories together. It is the Greed with a capital G of the White House that is stirring this cautionary fairytale back into my consciousness.

the southern California coast

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Nine Cent Girl is 15!

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This month marks year 15 for Nine Cent Girl. Nearly 700 posts being blasted out since my very first with many of you loyally reading along from the start. I am grateful to all who have reached out and let me know what my words mean to you. Writing is done in solitary fashion, with only one’s own thoughts and opinions and reactions and research to guide you. By hearing from friends and family, from other writers, and all the strangers who are now within my circle of correspondence, has made me so thankful for your messages. I remain buoyed by your support and am indebted by your continued readership. I did not enter this role knowing how wonderful it would be, but I am indeed beholden.

Woman with Balloons

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