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England's Rose (1961)
Aug 28, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The British national anthem ends with the words, “Long to reign over us/God save the Queen.” A princess never had the opportunity to sit on the throne, and yet forever rules as an immortal icon.
Indian Summer (1901)
Aug 27, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Voracious sexual appetites are traditionally associated with the possessors of testosterone, but history has proved there are Lady Casanovas. Catherine the Great was so hot to trot a joke circulated in St. Petersburg that the canal that received the most use was Catherine’s canal. Mae West’s response to her maid informing her ten men were waiting at the door, “Send one of them home. I’m tired.” In a similar carnal vein, there was a British lady who could have given the Russian empress and the American movie star a run for their money.
The Storm (1875)
Aug 24, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Crowned heads usually walk the prescribed path of sumptuous palaces, eye-popping jewelry, envy-worthy travels. A royal woman took this road, but along the way, her life also intertwined with Count Dracula, a Dorothy Parker poem, a revolution-and that was merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
A Perfect Match (1956)
Aug 22, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The color white is de rigeur for participants in Wimbledon; however, on a metaphorical level, the color is emblematic of the fact that for most of its history, the elite club has been a white Anglo Saxon enclave. A blow was fought against elitism when Angela Buxton became the first Jewish woman, and Althea Gibson became the first black woman, to play at Wimbledon.
Farewell to Thee (1838)
Aug 21, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Hawaii proves an irresistible magnet for tourists drawn to the azure waves of the Pacific, pink hued sunsets, exotic-colored flowers. Ironically, the beauty of the island nation led to Paradise lost for its first and only queen.
More Human (1903)
Aug 14, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
On August 15, 1945, eight days after the first atomic bomb had annihilated thousands of people, Emperor Hirohito delivered a radio broadcast that marked the first time the public heard his voice. He stated that Japan would have “to endure the unendurable and suffer the unsufferable.” The head of an ancient kingdom had accepted the Allied Powers’ demand for unconditional surrender. By his action, Hirohito had saved his country and the chrysanthemum throne, (the name of Japan’s monarchy). Those who preferred death to the dishonor of surrender committed suicide in front of the palace. At the other end of the spectrum, millions flooded into Manhattan’s Times Square, and the iconic photograph of the sailor planting a kiss on a nurse became the symbol of America’s elation as the curtain descended on World War II.
MY BELOVED WORLD (1954)
Aug 08, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
A common belief is that those born on the wrong side of the tracks usually end up in the same place-that environment is destiny. But as one woman proved, it is possible to travel far afield from humble roots, especially when equipped with the mindset that dreams do not just have to be for sleeping.
It Took a Yankee (1926)
Aug 06, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Urban legend has it that the word golf is an acronym for gentlemen only ladies forbidden. Although the etymology is incorrect, what is true is that women and sports have often seemed incompatible. If a lady attempted to sneak in during the ancient Olympic Games, the men would throw her off Mount Typaeon. Fortunately, Gertrude Ederle merited a kinder fate, and she became the first woman to conquer the English Channel.
Bon Appetite (1924)
Aug 04, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The word celebrity used to belong to the provenance of famous musicians, actors, and athletes. It later embraced celebrity chefs: the gourmets who produce Pavlovian responses in dedicated foodies. However, what has been regulated to the shadows is the female Francophile responsible for taking cooks out of the closet and into the mainstream.
Just a Kiss (1968)
Jul 31, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
A half century ago, when the United States was embroiled in race riots triggered by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an era that had experienced the illegality of black and white marriage, Nichelle Nichols became the first black woman to embrace a white man on American television. It was the kiss heard around the galaxy.
England's Rose (1961)
Jul 29, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The British national anthem ends with the words, “Long to reign over us/God save the Queen.” A princess never had the opportunity to sit on the throne, and yet forever rules as an immortal icon.
In My End (1542)
Jul 20, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
“Cat fight,” a sexist term-without a male equivalent, implies women’s interactions involve the sharpening of nails, a fact some males find titillating. A high-profile female-against-female feud involved two British duchesses and engendered endless speculation as to who made who cry. Their alleged spat would pale in comparison to the tensions between two Renaissance frenemies over the rule of a royal roost.
Fortune's Fool! (1537)
Jul 19, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II will become the first British monarch to mark seventy years on the throne, an event that will be commemorated with a Platinum Jubilee. In contrast, a crowned head ruled for even less time than Anne Boleyn, the Queen of one thousand days.
Yours, yours
Jul 15, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Upon occasion, an individual is the possessor of an extraordinary life résumé, the case with the woman who traversed the road from princess to empress to saint. Her story wove a tapestry that bound the threads of majesty, mayhem, and massacre.
A Far Better Rest (1775)
Jul 14, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Those who wear the tiara capture the popular imagination, as queens exist in an emerald city of gowns, palaces, and jewels, oh my! And when a royal alters the course of world history, the dust never settles on their stories.
That's All That I Remember" (2013)
Jul 13, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
A proverb states, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,” and this was the case with a hash- tag heard round the world. Its seed was planted on a fateful Florida night when an encounter led to the convergence of the Titanic and the iceberg.
Quite Contrary (1865)
Jul 11, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
In the film Forrest Gump, Lieutenant Dan snarls at Forrest saying, “They gave you, an imbecile and a moron, the Congressional Medal of Honor.” While President Johnson conferred the award for Gump’s valor in Vietnam, an earlier President Johnson conferred the award for a lady’s valor in the Civil War. Dr. Mary Edward Walker was the first and the only woman to have received the Medal of Honor.
We Are the Champions (1985)
Jul 07, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The woman with pink pixie hair lazed like a fiery comet over the sporting world skies leaving a trail of controversy in her wake. Her story began in Redding, a small, conservative, working-class city in Northern California. Her father, Jim, worked in the day as a construction contractor while her mother, Denise, worked nights as a waitress at Jack’s Grill. The household included seven children, including the three they had together: son, Brian, and twins, Megan and Rachael. Brian, five years older than his sisters, set up cones on the lawn to teach them how to dribble, thereby sowing the seed to fame. As female athletes were invisible at this time, the posters in Megan’s room were all of Michael Jordan. A dedicated Denise drove her daughters two and a half hours each way for practice in Sacramento.
A Good Judge (1981)
Jul 07, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Before the first female presidential nominee of a major political party was a twinkle in the nation’s eyes, before there was a female speaker of the House of Representatives, a female attorney general, or a female secretary of state, there was the F.W.O.T.S.C. – the first woman on the Supreme Court-an acronym Sandra Day O’Connor used when she ascended America’s loftiest bench.
Heartbreak Hotel (1939)
Jul 05, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Scarlett O’Hara loved her home, Tara, as Elvis Presley did Graceland. While Scarlett’s father named his plantation after the Hill of Tara, once the capital of the High King of Ireland, Elvis’ estate received its name from Grace Toof.
_w140_h140/tsarina(1)_07150832.jpeg "Yours, yours")
_w140_h140/sandra(1)_07070454.jpeg "A Good Judge (1981)")
