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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Failure is Impossible

Failure is Impossible
Aug 26, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Susan B. Anthony House (opened 1971)

Rochester, New York

“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women their rights, and nothing less.” Susan B. Anthony

   The unwavering friendship between Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Antony formed the foundation of the American suffrage movement. Elizabeth supplied the speeches that Susan delivered, “I forged the thunderbolts and Susan fired them!” For those desperately seeking Susan, one should make a pilgrimage to the Susan B. Anthony House.

I Do Not Give a Damn (1893)

I Do Not Give a Damn (1893)
Aug 17, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” 
 

              Legions of literary ladies entertain the dream of heading for New York City to become another Dorothy Parker, the rapier wit who achieved renown as the Guinevere of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of Manhattan writers and critics. Would-be Parker acolytes might reconsider walking in her pumps if they understood the pain behind Mrs. Parker’s wisecracks.

I Still Believe

I Still Believe
Aug 04, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“I want to go on living after my death.” – Anne Frank

 

The Anne Frank House (opened in 1960)

 Prinsenghracht 263, Amsterdam, Holland

 

            As Romeo walked the streets of Verona, he observed, “Here is much to do with hate but more with love.” The self-same words apply to an Amsterdam building that receives over a million annual visits. The hate emanated from the mustached madman of Berlin; the love stemmed from the shared devotion of the Frank family.

Antonia's Ark (1908)

Antonia's Ark (1908)
Aug 01, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“You can never tell who your enemies are, or who to trust. Maybe that’s why I love animals so much.”

   The modern zoo originated in 1907 when a German animal whisperer opened the eponymous Carl Hagenbeck Animal Park. Hans Augusto Rey, a frequent visitor, spent hours drawing monkeys he later immortalized in his literary creation, Curious George. A Polish zoo was also a curious place whose owner understood that those who emulate the three proverbial monkeys-see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil- are complicit in inhumanity.

Eureka! Penguin Books

Eureka! Penguin Books
Jul 30, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Revolutions have made deep inroads on the face of history: the French, American, and Russian Revolutions irrevocably altered the world. However, there was another type of upheaval, equally ideological, but far less bloody, that led not to political change but to revolution. Moreover, in the process, a bird once only indigenous to the Arctic became ubiquitous throughout the world.

A Girl's Best Friend (1946)

A Girl's Best Friend (1946)
Jul 28, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
In their album Bookends, Simon & Garfunkel sang, “Time it was, and what a time it was, it was/A time of innocence/ A time of confidences/Long ago, it must be…” One of the memories from the 1950s involved Tupperware parties where housewives could envision themselves as mini moguls. A time when Tupperware and the rotary phone held sway. The groundbreaking plastic marvel sprung full-blown from the mind of Earl Silas Tupper.

Vertubenflugen (1985)

Vertubenflugen (1985)
Jul 25, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 

Rose to Blanche, “I thought you wore too much make-up and were a slut. I was wrong. You don’t wear too much make-up.”

 

    Picture it: Miami, 1985. NBC aired a novel series that featured women of a certain age who did more than strategize where to place their crotchet creations. Instead, the Four Musketeers from The Golden Girls proved there was life post menopause.

    

Just Sarah (1959)

Just Sarah (1959)
Jul 23, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Tales that begin with the words “once upon a time” lead girls to believe they are princesses-in-waiting, that a handsome prince will whisk them off to a “happily ever after.” Alas, with royal paramours in short supply, women must look elsewhere. Hence, when a duchess exposed the reality beyond fairy tale enchantment, her revelations packed quite the punch.

You Can't Beat 1903

You Can't Beat 1903
Jul 22, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 

   From time immemorial, relationships have often been expressed through gifts. Some, like Eve’s apple and the Trojan Horse, proved unkind to those who received them, while other gifts have been odes to romance. Few women have received as wondrous a present as Cosima Wagner did when Richard composed the Siegfried Idyll for her birthday. Tsar Alexander’s Fabergé egg gained mileage with his young bride, as did Burton’s 68-carat diamond to his ladylove. Resplendent as the symphony, the egg, and the ring may be, nothing could rival a son’s tribute to his mother.

     

Dorian Gray (1880)

Dorian Gray (1880)
Jul 16, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
John Keats wrote, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” While the observation holds true in poetry, in truth a thing of beauty often holds strands of sorrow, strands of evil. Pierre-August Renoir’s canvass of Irène Cahen d’Anvers interacted with France’s direst days.

Love Life (1947)

Love Life (1947)
Jul 11, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
  Scent is a tool of seduction. Medea used an aromatic ambrosia on the dragon who guarded The Golden Fleece. When the creature succumbed to her spell, she absconded with the treasure. After a woman asked where to put her perfume, Chanel responded, “Wherever one wants to be kissed.” Marilyn Monroe’s response to what she wore to bed, “Chanel Number 5.” Tragically, interwoven with the French floral fragrance of Miss Dior Eau De Parfum is the stench of a deadly weed, one forced upon Catherine Dior.

The Salt is Sugar (2013)

The Salt is Sugar (2013)
Jul 11, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“Two hundred women, no phones, no washing machines, no hair-dryers, it was like Lord of the Flies on estrogen.” Piper

 

     Television series centering on female friends? check; on family dynamics? check; on landing Mr. Right? check. Not until the arrival of Netflix’s dramedy, Orange is the New Black, did the small screen turn to the hell of incarcerated women.

A Band of Angels

A Band of Angels
Jul 09, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Harriet Tubman Home (opened 2017)

180 South St. Auburn, New York, 13021

“There was one of two things I’ve got a right to, liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other, for no man should take me alive.” Harriet Tubman

 

    The old Negro spiritual holds the plaintive words, “Swing low, sweet chariot/Coming for to carry me home…” For the enslaved, home referred to heaven, the end of earthly misery. The Harriet Tuman Home is a testament to dreams do not have to wait for the hereafter.

Don't Forget Me

Don't Forget Me
Jul 06, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 

“I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.” – Frida Kahlo

 

Museo Frida Kahlo (opened in 1958)

Londres 247, Colonia del Carmen, Coyoacán, México 

  

            In the early and mid-twentieth century, Coyoacán was Mexico City’s Montparnasse, Greenwich Village, and Haight Ashbury as artists congregated in its free-spirited enclave. And the queen of Boho, Frida Kahlo, reigned from her eclectic blue Casa Azul, (the blue a nod to the cultural tradition that it wards off evil spirits), now the Museo Frida Kahlo.

          

Don't Forget Me

Don't Forget Me
Jul 06, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Chapter # 9:  Don’t Forget Me 

“I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.” – Frida Kahlo

 

Museo Frida Kahlo (opened in 1958)

Londres 247, Colonia del Carmen, Coyoacán, México 

  

            In the early and mid-twentieth century, Coyoacán was Mexico City’s Montparnasse, Greenwich Village, and Haight Ashbury as artists congregated in its free-spirited enclave. And the queen of Boho, Frida Kahlo, reigned from her eclectic blue Casa Azul, (the blue a nod to the cultural tradition that it wards off evil spirits), now the Museo Frida Kahlo.

         

Phenomenal Woman (1928)

Phenomenal Woman (1928)
Jul 03, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
  People oftentimes view the past with nostalgia, highlighting the good times and letting dust settle on the bad. The second decade of the 20th century-the Roaring 20s-is remembered as a never-ending party. In contrast, under the hilarity the Ku Klux Klan attained the highest membership in its history and Jim Crow reigned in the South.

Nyet (1939)

Nyet (1939)
Jun 28, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
The words “cocktail” and “cocktail party” carry positive connotations; in contrast, the Molotov Cocktail conjures images of devastation. Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov had the dubious distinction of having a Do-It-Yourself-Bomb-the Molotov Cocktail- named after him.

Seen the Glory

Seen the Glory
Jun 27, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller

Ivy Green

300 N Commons St W, Tuscumbia, Alabama (opened 1954)

   It would be difficult to refrain from crying while watching The Miracle Worker. Tears flow along with the water from the pump as Helen cried out, “Wah! Wah!” Helen Keller’s birth house, Ivy Green, is testimony to prevailing over seemingly impossible odds.

Raymond's Secret (1997)

Raymond's Secret (1997)
Jun 26, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
  Queen Victoria is regarded as a right royal stick-in-the-mud, her reign synonymous with sexual prudery. However, a century later the lingerie emporium, Victoria’s Secret, named after the Empress, is a tongue-in-cheek nod to her naughty nature. 

Roe v. Roe (1973)

Roe v. Roe (1973)
Jun 24, 2023 by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Ironically, although the Thirteen Colonies were christened the United States, certain seismic tremors proved divisive. In the 19th century, the gray battled  the blue, in the in the twentieth century, there was no love lost between the hawks and the doves;  in the twenty-first century,  pussy-hats have faced off against the Trumpites. Another tear in the fabric of the Union launched a movement whose tremors yet reverberate.