Marlene Wagman-Geller

"As far back as I can remember, it was always on my bucket list, even before the term bucket list was coined,
to be a writer. It was a natural progression to want to go from reading books to writing one."
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If Those Hats Could Talk (1912)

If Those Hats  Could Talk (1912)
Apr 20, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 Forrest Gump, sitting on a park-bench, has a one-sided conversation with a disinterested

nurse when he told her, “Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person

by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes.”

The Book of Ruth (1941)

The Book of Ruth (1941)
Apr 14, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
A passage from the Biblical Mark poses the question, “For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” A twentieth-century man turned a deaf ear to this advice, and in the process, he sacrificed his soul-along with his wife’s- the dethroned Park Avenue Princess.

La Dame aux Camélias

La Dame aux Camélias
Apr 13, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“We are the breakers of our own hearts.”

–Eudora Welty  

 

Eudora Welty House & Garden (opened 2006)

Jackson, Mississippi

 

Although her home was where Eudora Alice Welty did her writing, it never went by a literary name, as did Virginia Woolf’s Monk’s House, Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, or Jane Austen’s Chawton House. Eudora referred to her residence as, “Tudor style with some timbering, you know, à la Shakespeare.” To learn about the literary landmark, set your compass to the Eudora Welty House & Garden.

Museum of Bad Art

Museum of Bad Art
Apr 12, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The word “museum-” that originated from the ancient Greek word for “place of the Muses-” conjures august institutions such as Paris’ Louvre. However, for those who need a hiatus from days as a “culture vulture” there are quirky alternatives. For a less highbrow pursuit, visit Iceland’s Phallological Museum dedicated to all things penile. After touring the mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, one can take a side trip to the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets that traces its evolution over the past 4,500 years. For those of a more romantic disposition, head to Croatia’s Museum of Broken Relationships. In terms of the offbeat, America has unique attractions.

Stanton Island Shangri-La

Stanton Island Shangri-La
Apr 11, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 

Jacques Marchais

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“It stands as a great monument to our love!”—Jacques Marchais (letter to Harry Klauber)

 

The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art (opened 1947)

338 Lighthouse Avenue, Staten Island, New York 10306

 

In 1933 James Hilton published Lost Horizons whose backdrop, the Himalayas, is known as “the rooftop of the world.” For those unable to travel to the fabled kingdom, take the ferry to Staten Island’s The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art.

Johnny Cash’s 1969 song “A Boy Named Sue” revolves around a man who has spent his life with upraised fists, infuriated that his father had saddled him with a female name. In a similar vein, John Coblentz christened his daughter Jacques Marchais. In the Cash song, the adult Sue reconciles with his father when the old man explained his rationale: his effeminate moniker would teach him to be tough. Jacques never had the opportunity to inquire why her father had bequeathed her a French boy’s name as John passed away when she was a toddler.

Jacques Marchais Coblentz was born in 1887 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her mother, Margaret, a widow without means of support, entrusted Jacques to an orphanage run by nuns, although she was not Catholic. When Jacques was three, Margaret reclaimed her daughter and put her on the vaudeville circuit. As a male name would cause confusion, she billed Jacques as Edna Coblentz or Edna Norman (her maiden name). Wealthy Chicago families requested private performances—one of whom was Mike Cassius McDonald, who introduced organized crime to Chicago.

When she was five years old, Margaret opened a chest that had gathered decades of dust in their attic. The Pandora’s Box held thirteen bronze deities her great-grandfather, John Joseph Norman, a Philadelphia sea merchant, had received from an Indian lama in Darjeeling.

At age sixteen, Jacques travelled to Boston to star in the comedy Peggy from Paris, where she met Brookings Montgomery, a student at MIT. When Brookings married the destitute teen, his prominent St. Louis family disowned him. The couple had children Edna May, Jane, and Brookings Jr.; they divorced in 1910. Six years later, Jacques married hotel manager Percy S. Deponai, a union that came with a one-year expiration date.

 

Infinite Variety

Infinite Variety
Apr 09, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

The Grande Dame of mystery, Agatha Christie wrote, “It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story.” Although the writer’s words ring true, the following unveils secrets hidden in the core of the Big Apple.

The Corner (1951)

The Corner (1951)
Apr 07, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Fans of Dennis the Menace would readily agree with the nursery rhyme’s contention that little boys are made of “Snips and snails/And puppy dogs’ tails.” For inspiration, the cartoon’s creator turned to the real-world mischief-maker, Dennis Ketcham.

The Dark Mirror (2018)

The Dark  Mirror (2018)
Mar 24, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
  The British National Anthem begins with the words, “God save our gracious queen, long live our noble queen, long may she reign.” As part of her reign, Queen Elizabeth II dominated Canadian currency; however, while her likeness appeared as a result of sovereignty, in 2018, Viola Desmond appeared for the sisterhood as the first non-royal woman to appear alone on Canada’s $10.00 banknote.

More Magical Than a Carriage (1929)

More Magical Than a Carriage (1929)
Mar 22, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“I, Kusama, am the modern Alice in Wonderland.”

      Artists and eccentricities go together: Vincent van Gogh gave his severed ear as a present to a prostitute; Virginia Woolf heard birds sing in ancient Greek, Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat. And eccentricity on steroids describes the pop art, polka-dot princess.

Think Different

Think Different
Mar 21, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Currently, Tesla denotes an electric, controversial car. However, in the nineteenth century the name recalled inventor Nikola Tesla.

Never Pass Into Nothingness

Never  Pass Into Nothingness
Feb 13, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
      Nineteenth-century British poet John Keats wrote “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” The sentiment holds true for the glittery, gorgeous minaudières (bejeweled clutch bags) created by Judith Leiber. To enter a museum that is a kaleidoscope of a love story, a slice of history, and art set amidst magnificent gardens, take the meandering road to The Leiber Collection.

Roe v Roe 1973 (Women Who Launch)

Roe v Roe 1973 (Women Who Launch)
Jan 22, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Ironically, although the Thirteen Colonies were christened the United States, certain seismic tremors proved divisive. In the nineteenth century, the Gray was pitted against the Blue; in the twentieth century, there was no love lost between the hawks and the doves; in the twenty-first century, pussy-hats faced off against the Trumpites. Another tear in the fabric of the Union launched a movement whose tremors still reverberate.

Fair or Foul (1946)

Fair or Foul (1946)
Jan 15, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
  Hamlet railed at Ophelia, “God has given you one face and you make yourselves another.” Although the Prince of Denmark was anti the art of makeup- what he viewed as female duplicity- the modern day woman who became Estée called cosmetics, “jars of hope.” She pronounced there were no ugly women, just lazy ones.

So Boring (1906)

So Boring (1906)
Jan 08, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
  “God Save the Queen,” The British National Anthem first performed in 1745, employs the lyric, “Send her victorious/Happy and glorious/Long to reign over us…” In contrast, a European crowned head reigned for only twenty-seven days as “The May Queen.”

Not a Dwelling

Not a Dwelling
Jan 04, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 “From my window I overlooked a pond in which a former butler had drowned himself. As one gloomy day succeeded another, I began to feel a deep sympathy for him.” -Consuelo Vanderbilt upon moving into Blenheim Palace.

 

Blenheim Palace (opened 1950)

Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England

 

During the Gilded Age, the mating dance between American heiresses and the British aristocracy replaced matters of the heart with matters of money. In the prosaic process, the daughters of the nouveaux riche received titles; their cash-strapped husbands received an infusion of funds. Downton Abbey’s Cora Crawley was a husband-hunter whose calling was to transform to Lady Crawley. Cora’s nonfictional counterpart was Consuelo Vanderbilt, the chatelaine of Blenheim Palace.

A Facial Attraction (1940)

A Facial  Attraction (1940)
Jan 02, 2025 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Chapter # 17  A Facial Attraction       (1940)

         In some scenarios, soap operas can play second fiddle to reality, especially when family fortunes and over-sized personalities are part of the dramatis personae. Fact triumphed fiction in the case of a surgically enhanced cat lady, a dynasty with Nazi associations, and a trove of treasures.

      

Connecticut's Canterbury Tale

Connecticut's Canterbury Tale
Dec 29, 2024 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Prudence Crandall

 

“My whole life has been one of opposition.”—Prudence Crandall (age eighty-four)

 

Prudence Crandall Museum (opened 1984)

 

A 1907 song by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards recalls, “School days, school days / Dear old Golden Rule Days.” Not everyone waxes nostalgic about school days, which was the case with the girls who attended the Canterbury Female Boarding School. To enter the Prudence Crandall Museum is to step into a threshold where great courage walked together with great hate.

The Devil's Brew

The Devil's Brew
Dec 27, 2024 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“I believe in being everlastingly on the warpath.”

–Carry A. Nation

 

Carry A. Nation Home & Museum (opened in 1950)

Medicine Lodge, Kansas, the United States

 

The lyrics to Peter, Paul, and Mary’s folksong held the promise, “If I had a hammer/I’d hammer in the morning/I’d hammer in the evening…” Carry A. Nation’s choice of instrument of social justice was, rather than a hammer, a hatchet. In the Carry A. Nation Museum, one can learn about the activist who was never temperate in terms of the Temperance Movement.

Divine Affection

Divine Affection
Dec 25, 2024 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“Art is a tyrant. It demands heart, brain, soul, body…I wed art.” 

–Rosa Bonheur

 

Château de Rosa Bonheur (opened 2017)

Thomery, France

 

 

As she lay dying, Queen Victoria whispered for Turi, her Pomeranian, to be brought to her bed. Another nineteenth century woman who worshipped animals was a French painter. To view her canvasses, to learn about a road less travelled, proceed to the Château Musée Rosa Bonheur.

Much Will be Required (1867)

Much Will be Required (1867)
Dec 23, 2024 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“I got my start by giving myself a start.” –Madame C. J. Walker

 

In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 29,” the speaker bemoans, “I all alone beweep my outcast state.” In contrast, rather than indulge in a pity party, Sarah Walker turned her misfortune into a fortune, and in the process, she became America’s first female, self-made millionaire.