My Heroes

5/31/2022

Yesterday, as I was sharing on Facebook on the topic of yesterday's blog, I had a post that was too long for the auto-background FB provides for short posts. So I wanted to put a gif of a woman shaking her finger.
I typed "shaking finger" and was provided with gifs of men shaking their fingers so I added "woman" to the search terms, and the first offering was a man, then some cartoons. It was all silly stuff so I was going to look for a photo online to use instead. I didn't like those either so I was going to search by name.
With what woman would I illustrate my ideas? I thought of alive women and discarded that because I didn't want people to assume that I got my perhaps outrageous ideas from one of them.
So then I thought about women who are dead . . . inspirations . . . heroes. Who ARE my female heros, icons, influences? That turned out to be a tough question.
I have been thinking about this for hours.
The best I can do is Frida Kahlo, who is dead, and Maxine Waters, who is alive.
I have decided that really, I am my own hero.
I am leading me where I want to go, with all women on my mind, and all vulnerable folks who need defending.

6 Comments

Tina

6/2/2022 03:16:37 pm

Keep writing Shelly. You have too much life wisdom to stop sharing it now.

Dr. P-J link

6/3/2022 08:00:44 am

Thank you Tina. I greatly appreciate your encouragement.

Jay Brock

6/2/2022 03:18:11 pm

Looking for a great heroine?
What about God?

6/3/2022 08:09:52 am

I wasn't looking for a great heroine, I was examining what heroic figures influenced me to be the bold and brave woman that I am. And my reflection led me to the idea that I am my own hero.

As to god/goddess . . . The life force is eternal . . . matter can be neither created or destroyed . . . but we don't understand jack-all about dark matter and what came before the big bang . . . and if multiple universes exist . . . and if time really just flows in one direction . . . this whole existence plays out like a story, kind of like the Perils of Pauline where as soon as one problem is solved, another more dangerous problem presents itself. Hopefully this whole existence is not just sound and fury.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Jean Cory

6/3/2022 04:07:38 pm

Men get the publicity...but can you even think of a male hero? I'm guessing you might say Bernie? When I was a kid, Martin Luther King became my hero...still not a bad choice. But there aren't really a lot of heroes for me. When I encounter the question "what person from history do you wish you could meet?" I usually think of Mary Cassatt, the American woman who was one of the Impressionists.

Dr P-J link

6/3/2022 05:30:49 pm

I think, for a male heroic figure, Bobby Kennedy would be a standout. Working for him, when I was still too young to vote, was the start of my political life. I knew that if he became president, he would care about the farm workers. Knew it in my bones. Still know it to this day.
As you think of painters I think of writers. Jane Austen's work continues to impress me as does Phillip K. and Ken Kesey.
In lieu of TV (well streaming now that we have no TV or cable) I have been reading to Mike at bedtime - Sometimes a Great Notion.
We miss the West Coast - the Pacific Ocean - terribly much. We miss that space between the water's edge and the crest of the coastal range.
I think most of my influences are fictional characters . . .

Dr. P-J's Blog

My Heroes

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