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Showing posts with the label Olive Semple

Random Thoughts

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Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you. --Princess Diana Today my grandmother would have been 110 years old. She passed away in 1987 at 86, and I still miss her, but she will always remain in my heart. Whenever I do or say anything that is slightly off-the-wall, I can still hear her voice in my head, chiding me. Her favorite saying, "Never forget where you came from, and never forget your people." She lived in fascinating times of rapid technological advances--"horseless" carriages, flight, radio, TV, computers--and almost lived long enough to see the advent of the internet as a mass medium. I often wonder what she would have thought about it. I suspect, "Not much." So, Happy Birthday, Mo , where ever you may be! I'm definitely on the mend; I have ditched the Tylenol completely with very minimal pain. Fortunately, I have been able to remain physically activ

Thought for the Day--May 8, 2011: Happy Mother's Day to "MO" and to ALL Moms

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My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. --Mark Twain My grandmother, Katherine Olive Quirk Semple (known in the family as "Mo") acted as my mom; she raised me for most of my life, stepping in for her daughter, my mother. As I grow older, I really appreciate the sacrifice involved: Mo was 57 when she and Dee Dee, my grandfather , took me in for good, and 61 when they formally adopted me as their child. Jennifer, age 7, on her way to a temporary custody hearing, Los Angeles Courthouse. Photograph by Olive Semple, the Queen of the backside photo _______________________________ I can't imagine what it must have been like to take in a child when you're facing your Social Security years. Mo was forward-thinking in that she pushed the adoption into motion years before applying for Social Security. She also knew what adoption might mean to me--my mother would legally become my sister (How weird is that?) and would lose all parental rights-

Memoir Madness: Driven to Involuntary Commitment