Marlene Wagman-Geller

“There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” 

–Corrie ten Boom

Corrie ten Boomhuis (opened 1988)

Haarlem, Holland

A quotation attributed to Edmund Burke states, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” a philosophy of which Corrie ten Boom adhered. After visiting the Corrie ten Boomhuis, one imbibes her commitment to humanity.  

“I don’t mind not being tall. I think tall.”- Donatella Versace

Upon hearing the name Donatella, (though it necessitates switching the o to an a), one might conjure an image of the fifteenth century painter, a Ninja turtle, or a world-renowned fashionista. Donatella Versace is the fabulous, formidable, and unforgettable force behind a world acclaimed label.

“Few such moments of exhilaration can come as that which stands at the threshold of wild travel.” –Gertrude Bell

Cleopatra, the Queen of the Nile, left her mark as the femme fatale who seduced Roman greats Julius Cesar and Marc Antony. Gertrude Bell, the Queen of the Desert, contribution was to birth a country-no mean feat for a daughter of Queen Victoria’s empire.

“The people need a role model…especially in the dark of night.”

–Imelda Marcos

Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum (opened 1979)

Tacloban, Philippines

If a Grimm’s brother princess possessed the ability to write, her message would read, “A new pair of shoes can change your life-Cinderella.” A former First Lady of the Philippines would have wholeheartedly agreed. To partake of a dwelling of fairy tale proportions, enter the estate of the Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum.

“The people need a role model…especially in the dark of night.”

–Imelda Marcos

Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum (opened 1979)

Tacloban, Philippines

If a Grimm’s brother princess possessed the ability to write, her message would read, “A new pair of shoes can change your life-Cinderella.” A former First Lady of the Philippines would have wholeheartedly agreed. To

One sits uncomfortably on a too comfortable cushion.”

         In 1968, country singer Jeannie C. Riley sang of the hypocrisy of her hometown who pointed fingers at the widowed Mrs. Johnson although they were guilty of worse transgressions. Sixteen years before, a playwright had socked it to a more powerful body than the Harper Valley P. T. A.

“I didn’t want to spend my life at home with a baby under my apron every year.”

The British film, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, set in 1910, revolved around the early days of aviation. When Lord Rawnsley forbid his suffragette daughter to pilot a plane, her fiancé conceived the idea of an air race from London to Paris. In a similar vein, American Annie Cohen Kopchovsky-a magnificent woman in her variation of a flying machine- set out to become the first woman to traverse the globe on a bicycle. As Annie Londonderry and astounded the world with her derring-do.

No episode of Downton Abbey rivaled the caustic cauldron of intrigue that riddled the Abbey’s nonfictional counterpart, Highclere Castle, home of the elite of Edwardian England. Even Lady Cora Crawley, the tempest-tossed titled main character, did not have a life as dramatic as its ancestral heroine whose life was a boubaillaise of adultery, abortion, and illegitimacy with the added twist of a mummy’s curse.

“I was a no one, nobody from Nowheresville, until I became a drag queen.” ~Marsha P. Johnson (sister who fought for transgender rights)  

Kermit the Frog rued, “It ain’t easy being green.” Marsha P. Johnson would have related to the quote: It was not easy being black, transgender, and destitute. However, rather than throw herself a pity party, Marsha, the “Saint of Christopher Street” became a battering ram who dedicated her life to the transgender community.

“I believe in the idea of the rainbow. And I’ve spent my entire life trying to get over it.”

 –Judy Garland

Judy Garland Museum (opened 1994)

Grand Rapids, Minnesota

In Frank L. Baum’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy tells the Scarecrow, “There is no place like home.” For Judy Garland, the star of the movie adaptation home was in the picturesquely named city of Grand Rapids. To pay tribute to the actress and to the childhood classic, one can follow the yellow brick road to the Judy Garland Museum.