But It’s Mother’s Day
What do you hear,” the child asked the Prophet, curious to know what was happening below the heavenly atmosphere they lived in, “What do you hear?”
“I hear mothers mourning over the lost of their young.”
“But it’s Mother’s Day,” the child replied.
“Oh, how well I know that,” answered the Prophet.
“So tell me what do you hear, Prophet? What do you hear?” The child in its naivety thought the earth had gotten better.
“Silence, child, I hear a faint rumbling coming up from a far.”
“All right, I won’t let out one peeps, but promise me you’ll tell me what you hear?” And the child dance around the Prophet with joyous expectations.
“You have my promise. I will only tell you what I hear.” Suddenly, the Prophet covered his ears. “Oh the rumble, it’s terrible,” shouted the Prophet. “It gets louder and louder.”
“Surely, it is the sound of the people on earth celebrating and cheering as they honor their mothers,” the Child said.
“Shh, now, I hear it clearly,” The Prophet commanded.
“What is it?” The Child asked.
“It sounds like gunfire going off in schools, at homes, on streets––children killing children.”
“But it’s Mother’s Day.”
“Oh, How well I know that.” The Prophet mumbled.
“So tell me something good. Tell me of the songs you hear, or the flowers you see, or children honoring their mothers with surprises on this beautiful Mother’s Day.”
“Wait!” Said the Prophet. “Be still. I hear another cry”
“Oh, goodie. It’s about time you heard a beautiful cry.”
The prophet began to cry before the child, and he began to beat his hands against his breast.
What wrong, Prophet, what’s wrong? Tell me, what did you hear?”
“Like Rachel crying for her young ones over two thousand years ago, I hear mothers wailing; painful moans, no man can ever imagine, coming up out of the heart of women: mothers wailing for the lost of their young.”
“But it’s Mother’s Day, Prophet.”
“Oh, how well I know that,” the Prophet answered.
“So, what do you see on this beautiful day for mothers everywhere,” the child asked, hoping the Prophet would report about the presents that made mommies happy on their special day. Maybe, just maybe, the child thought, the Prophet will let me look down and see the celebrations.
“Shall I tell you what I hear? Maybe then you’ll understand what I’m saying,” the Prophet said.
“All right. Tell me, what do you hear, Prophet? What do you hear?”
“I hear mothers wailing for the lost of their young;
Children, whose lives have been cut off by drunken drivers;
Children, whose lives are stopped short by guns in the hands of distorted minds;
Children, whose lives are prematurely ended by the scalpel;
Children, whose lives are snuffed out by bombs as they sleep;
Children, whose lives have been contaminated––destroyed by chemicals dropped from the air as man fights against man.
I see little people, like you, child, who have no voice
To speak out,
To protest,
To vote;
Their lives have been taken away without their consent.”
“But it’s Mother’s Day, Prophet. It’s Mother’s Day.
“Oh, how well I know that!” The Prophet answered.
Shalom,
Pat Garcia
A Special Mother’s Day Tribute and the Introduction to the Article, But It’s Mother’s Day
This year’s Mother’s Day article, But It’s Mother’s Day, is a tribute to all those mothers who have lived through the agony of having a child precede them in death. No mother expects to see her child leave this earth before she does: it is the mother’s heart that dreams of life–long life– for her children even before they are born.
I would also like to salute two women whom I have come to love, respect, and admire.
Micki Peluso, author of And The Whippoorwill Sang,[1] whose daughter’s life was cut off by a drunken driver. Micki tells Noelle’s story, and therefore her own story with heart. Full of humor and wit, And The Whippoorwill Sang draws you into the Peluso family: it also takes you through a gamut of emotions from anger to hatred, to laughter, to tears that will force you to support a zero tolerance for people who drink and drive.
Linda Halpin is the author of an upcoming book about her son, Louie, who was shot down in New York City. As a mother, she was suddenly thrown into the woes of lost. Louie was a child with a promise, a future boxer whose future stopped on a fatal afternoon as he innocently visited his friends. Linda’s book is expected to be release sometime this year.
Both of these women have gone through the dark night of their souls, and they have come through it with renewed strength to step up to the plate and speak out against violence that has been done, not only against their children, but against children all over the world.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Shalom,
Pat Garcia
[1] Peluso, Micki, And The Whippoorwill Sang,
The Champions Who Walked Among Us – Article 15 – The Dark Lady, The Unsung Heroine
- What would you do if your recognition and honor were stolen?
- How would you react when your research was appropriated for use without your knowledge and permission?
- What would you say to those who had violated one of the fundamental laws of the Hippocratic Oath of Science –– Thou shall not steal?
1868, Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister. The appointment lasted only a few months. General elections in the United Kingdom held that same year favored William Gladstone and his Liberal Party.[1]
1874, Disraeli returned to Parliament as Prime Minister and became the father of social reform. But after being defeated by Gladstone and his Liberals in 1880, Disraeli went into retirement and died in 1881.[2]
1914, The First World War began.
1917, The Balfour Declaration was enacted.[3]
1918, The First World War ends.
1920,
The month: July,
The date: the twenty-fifth,
The day: Sunday
In the middle of a European society filled with chaos and struggle, where mistrust and discrimination was widely practiced against a small group of people, a young baby was born into an affluent family. As her eyes opened to view the lights of the world, racism, anti-Semitism and suffrage were the dominating political and economical topics that occupied the minds of the people in the country of her birth. Fear, envy, and jealousy surrounded her. Suspicions throttled opportunities for this small ethnic group and the baby’s facial features pointed out with clarity her ethnicity. The fact that she was born English could not eradicate the fact–– she was Jewish.
Born as a member of the female species, this young baby girl was unaware of the events that would hurl her into a clandestine intrigue against her and would test her ability to keep moving forward. At the time of her birth, she could not predict that her Intellectual Property would be robbed nor would she have believed that she would become the victim of one of the most hideous crimes there is on this earth––a crime that has not been properly restituted up to this day–Espionage of knowledge.
The child was the second in the lineage from a family comprise of three boys and two girls. Her parents belonged to the Anglo-Jewry and practiced its traditions, as well as honored the traditions of the English Society, which was their birthplace. Psychiatrist and Analyst Alfred Adler stated in his theory on birth order among children that the second child is the fighter, the challenger, the competitor sandwiched between the oldest and the middle child. This young woman certainly fitted this description.
According to my favorite biographer of her life, Brenda Maddox,[4] the young child knew her life was destined at the age of twelve. It was her dream to become a scientist, and The Dark Lady, The Unsung Heroine arose.
- What would you do if you came into the world with your mission already defined and imbedded within your heart?
Throughout her life, the young woman thrived in a learning atmosphere. She mastered mathematics, geometry, the sciences and learned languages quickly. Raised in an environment of love and respect, the idea that she was anything less than equal to others never came to her mind. The Dark Lady, our Unsung Heroine was not a feminist, yet, would suffer unjust snubs, ridicule, and recriminations–––she was Jewish.
By the time the Unsung Heroine had reached fifteen, she was in love with science. There was not a scientific topic that did not tease her analytical mind. Motivated, dedicated to her family, and with the stamina to be persistent, she was indeed unusual.
She attended Newnham, one of the two female colleges at Cambridge University, an honor that made her family extremely proud and brought her recognition as the top student upon entry with the best evaluation in Chemistry.
In 1941, The Dark Lady, the Unsung Heroine received her Bachelor’s Degree from Cambridge and also a scholarship to work on a research project concerning photochemistry. She worked under R. G. Norris but the Second World War had begun, and our Unsung Heroine weighed her options about how she could best contribute to helping her nation during the war. She decided to work on researching the microstructures and usage of coal for wartime purposes. The identification of the microstructures and their reactions to each other was successful, and later led to her receiving her Ph.D. from Cambridge University and the acknowledgement and publication for five scientific papers.[5]
However, it was after this period that she began her most fruitful work, a work that would lead three men to receive the the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for a discovery of the structures of Deoxyribonucleic Acid, known by its acronym of DNA.
The Dark Lady had spent time in France where she had experienced international renown among her colleagues, and she had returned home to England on a three-year research grant to work in the lab from John T. Randall’s Bio Physics Unit at King’s College in London. He asked her to work on his DNA research project. With her experience in x-ray diffraction, where she was considered an expert before her time, she discovered there were two forms of Deoxyribonucleic Acid, a wet and a dry form that displayed totally different pictures. The Dark lady conducted various tests, and in 1953 she had photo picture proof that both structures were helices.[6]
Unfortunately, Maurice Wilkins sent her work to scientists, Francis Crick and James D. Watson without her knowledge. Because he had not been assigned to work with her on the project, a rivalry began that brought our Unsung Heroine much pain. Wilkins made her life miserable during her time at King’s College. Based on her research and her pictures, Crick and Watson were able to break the mystery of the DNA structure. However, they did not mention they had based their work on the photo pictures from The Dark Lady, our Unsung Heroine.
- What would have been your reaction to the theft of your intellectual property?
- How would you have reacted to failed acknowledgement of your critical research that may have rewarded you with the Nobel Prize?
The year 1954, damage relationships were irreparable, and The Dark Lady resettled herself and transferred her fellowship to J.D. Bernal’s Crystallography Laboratory at Birkbeck College. She refused to look backward; instead she looked ahead and began working with the structures of plant viruses, which drew her international attention. During this time, she made two trips to the North American Continent.
Can’t you see her people?
The Dark Lady,
The Unsung Heroine of Science,
Giving her best, putting her best foot forward, no matter the circumstances and succeeding, even though she had been intellectually robbed.
The year was 1958,
The date April 16,
And one of the most prolific women of the twentieth century,
The Dark Lady,
The Unsung Heroine,
Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin,
Was about to take her wings and cross over into eternity.
In 1956, this thirty-five year old woman had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Even though, she had undergone two surgeries and other treatments that brought about remission, the cancer continued to reappear. Nevertheless, The Dark Lady, The Unsung Heroine of DNA continued to gather funds for her team, until she could no longer work. She knew time was slipping away quickly, but she wanted to leave her team well-funded.
On that particular day, in 1958, the 16th of April, it was windy in London. The winds were strong throughout the United Kingdom. The weather forecast predicted that the latter part of the month of April would bring extreme warm temperatures.[7] However, The Dark Lady, The Unsung Heroine of DNA was ready to rest and her eyes looked towards going home.
Can’t you see her people?
Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin, The Dark Lady,
The Unsung Heroine of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine,
The woman in the background who laid the groundwork for the Double Helix,
As she lay there reminiscing over her life, taking an account of the path she had deliberately chosen to walk.
I can see her in my mind, looking back at thirty-seven years of a life well spent in public service, and in helping others by fulfilling her purpose in life. I see her smiling as she examined her accomplishments:
- Worked successfully on a research project in Photochemistry and achieved Bachelor’s Degree.
- Identified the microstructures in coal and their usage for the war industry in the Second World War. Doctor’s degree followed with the publication of five scientific papers.
- Discovered the wet and dry helical structures of Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which led to the discovery of the Double Helix.
- Instrumental in the research of plant viruses and the tobacco mosaic virus
- Published 19 articles on coals and carbon, five articles on DNA and 21 on Viruses
- Was the top expert researcher in X-Ray Diffraction
- Established a global network of contacts for my team within the research world.
- Left more than enough financial funding to assist them.
See her through the eyes of your heart, people,
Look at this woman,
The Dark Lady,
The Unsung Heroine of Deoxyribonucleic Acid,
As she smiled once more before she let out a sigh, and Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin, the lady who laid down the groundwork for the Double Helix put on her wings, and her spirit stood up and Walked On.
She walked on, people, she walked On! Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin Walked On!
Walk On all you weary people who have been misunderstood, abused, or misused.
Stand tall and keep walking, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Hold your head up high,
Walk On, I say, Walk On.
Ciao,
Pat Garcia
*Some facts after Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin’s departure:
In 1962 Francis Crick, James D. Watson and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the Double Helix. None of the three men mentioned that his work was based on the pictures they had illegally taken from the work of Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin.
1968 Watson published his memoirs in which he portrayed Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin in a derogatory manner.
1975 Franklin’s friend, Anne Sayre wrote a rebuttal, which began to uncover the truth about the discovery of the Double Helix. However, a posthumous Nobel Prize award for Dr. Rosalind Elsie Franklin regarding her critical role that led to this discovery has not yet been rectified.
[4] Maddox, Brenda, Rosalind Franklin, The Dark Lady of DNA, HarperCollins e-books, 2002 in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins Publishers.
[7] http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/4/j/Apr1958.pdf
(8) http://www.kelliecoffey.com/index.asp, permission requested.
Learning From The Past- An Introduction To This Year’s (2013) Walk On Series
Hello Everyone,
I would like to thank you for your loyal support of my Walk On Series during the year of 2012. It is an exhilarating feeling and an emotional high for me when I research the ladies I have chosen to learn about and pass on to you my reader.
This is the first article for this year, and it was an intentional delay. The time needed to choose whose life I would become involved in demands that I look at the women carefully. They become a part of me, and therefore, the Walk On Series always starts in March and ends in November.
Even though dead, these women live on, and the legacies they left behind astonish me every time I start digging. I must admit that I learn enormously from them.
Their strength,
To move on,
To continue to struggles,
To reach out and help others,
To forgive and forget,
Are just some of the lessons that have affected my own life.
What is even more shocking for me was their determination to make a difference, to change themselves, and thereby change the world they lived in.
I sincerely hope these women of the past that I present this year will be an encouragement to you, and that each of you, whether male or female will continue to
Walk On!
Ciao,
Pat Garcia
Happy New Year! Happy Ground Hog Day!
Happy New Year Everyone! Happy Ground Hog Day! Yes, I know, my New Year’s greeting is exactly thirty-one days late, and my Ground Hog Day greeting is one day too soon. Having developed a habit of surfing under during the last half of December and the month of January each year, I use this time to take care of me, to reassess the path I travel, to listen intensively to what my inner voice is saying, and like the ground hog, I surface up one day earlier to check out the world on February 1.
According to the myths passed down through my family, if the ground hog sees it shadow we will have six more week of winter if he does not, then, spring is on its way.
I don’t know how much of that is truth, but one fact was clear for me when I surfaced out of my cubbyhole of self-inclusion this morning; the world is at war.
There is a war going on, people! One little tiny country is being threatened by every nation surrounding it. While some countries in another region of the world are being invaded, causing people to leave their homes and find refuge in overcrowded shelters.
Meanwhile, western civilization is securing its borders as suppression and abuse of women and children ravage throughout poverty-stricken countries.
Like the ground hog, I checked out the prognosis for a better 2013. Prognosis: escalation of wars, more intolerance, and the continued violation of human rights.
Back to the ground hog, if he sees his shadow on February 2, he goes back into his cubbyhole and sleeps until spring. Unlike the ground hog, the luxury of sleeping until spring is out of the question for me.
So, have a good year everyone, and let us hope for a better world to come.
Ciao,
Pat Garcia
A Message From The Creator
Very Inspiring Blogger Award
Hello everyone,
A shout goes out to Raani York, http://raaniyork.wordpress.com, for nominating my blog series, The Champions Who Walked Among Us on my Walk On Blog for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.
My Walk On series has turned out to be a big faith builder not only for myself, but for others as well. Examining the lives of women who have been forgotten or never recognized has awaken power and strength within me I did not know existed. The courage, persistence, endurance, faith, struggles,humility, gentleness, compassion and kindness exhibited in the characters of the Walk On women are rare jewels, which I hide in my treasure trove.
Thus, the Very Inspiring Blogger Award nomination from Raani York is very precious to me. Once again, I thank you Raani for this nomination and on behalf of all those women who rose above the ‘I can’t do,’ to the ‘I can do’ and opened doors that allows women today to move forward, I accept it.
Women like Sophie Germain, Sojourner Truth, Clara Barton, Madam C.J. Walker, Golda Meier, Marion Andersen, and all the other women I have covered so far did not have an easy life. They came up against incredible odds, but they kept going and changed the world.
So the rules are to post seven things about myself. Here goes,
- I love cats and had two of them, but I don’t have one at the moment.
- I am a fanatic when it comes to music and my tastes are universal.
- I drink at least four to five glasses of Lactose free milk per day.
- I read voraciously from all genres, both fiction and non-fiction and find it easy to lose myself in any book that I enjoy reading.
- I get a kick out of dancing, from waltzing to hip hop, I love it.
- I play chess, love bridge, bid whiz and spades.
- A good night with four hours of sleep makes me happy.
Raani’s idea of putting the links to the blogs was a great idea, and I decided to follow in her footsteps and do the same. Below are my nominees with their blog links, and please note I have not picked any of the blogs that Raani and I both follow. If I have not chosen your blog, it doesn’t mean that I don’t read your blog. It only means I have a limited number of blogs I can choose, and with sixteen I have already exceeded my limit.
1. Ellen Roberts Young - http://freethoughtandmetaphor.com
2. Tangie Bell - http://talktangie.com
3. Susan Scott - http://www.gardenofedenblog.com
4. Deirdre Tolhurst - http://www.deirdretolhurst.blogspot.de
5. Tracee Ford – http://traceeford.wordpress.com
6. Gwynn Rogers - http://gwynnsgritandgrin.com
7. Carol Child - http://salmonsaladandmozart.com
8. Louise Malbon-Reddix - http://healingintheheart.blogspot.de
9. Mary Helen Ferris - http://greatpoetrymhf.wordpress.com
10. Selasie Bulumo - http://selasiebulmuo.wordpress.com
11. Hodge Podge for the Soul -http://hodgepodge4thesoul.wordpress.com
12. Cristian Mihai -http://cristianmihai.net
13. Linda Yeazak - http://lindayezak.com
14. Elaine Couglar -http://elainecougler.wordpress.com
15. Marta Merajver Kurlat - http://www.martamerajver.com.ar/marta/index.php/hometop
16. Joy at 60 - http://joyat60.wordpress.com
Walk On, People, Walk On!
Shalom,
Pat Garcia
Related articles
- beatredundancyblues Won The Very Inspiring Blogger Award (beatredundancyblues.wordpress.com)
- A Very Inspiring Blogger Award (transcendingbordersblog.wordpress.com)
My Rainbow Future
It's 3am
Just can't sleep
All night long
I've tossed and turned
Contemplating
Imagining
My fate of yesterday
It's been pretty grim
Now stressing my mind
About what tomorrow holds
Questions flitter and float about
Unanswered in the quiet night
What is it I did not do
Why am I stuck in this rut
How I envy those asleep
Who closed their eyes…
The Next Big Thing
The Next Big Thing is a series of blog posts where authors talk about their work using the same ten questions. At the end of the blog, we tag other authors who will do the same thing a week later. So not only do you get to find out more about my upcoming book but you also will discover some other interesting writers.
The Next Big Thing
The Next Big Thing is a series of blog posts where authors talk about their work using the same ten questions. At the end of the blog, we tag other authors who will do the same thing a week later. So not only do you get to find out more about my upcoming book but you also will discover some other interesting writers. Rosemary “Mamie” Adkins, a true friend and Irishwoman from the heart, tagged me and here are my answers:
- What is the working title of your next book?
I am still waiting on the publisher‘s acceptance of my first book, which has the working title A Time To Love. I hope to get an answer soon.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I desired to write a book about romance with mirrored true life and would lift the reader into an alternative world, which gives power and strength. Actually, the characters had been living within me since 1993, but it has taken some years for them to be born.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
To be honest, I am not sure. I write in different genres in fiction and non-fiction. At the moment, I think it falls under multicultural, inspirational, romantic suspense, but it could fall under women’s fiction. What I am definite about is that it is a book that men would love to read also.
- What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
The two main characters who would be absolutely ideal are Taraji P. Henson in the female role, and Adam Rodriguez in the male role. I even have a producer that I favour most, named Tyler Perry.
- What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Living out your destiny means accepting crossroads, which will occur in your life and lead you to change and move up higher.
- Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It will be traditionally published, and at the moment, I do not want to reveal the publisher’s name due to waiting on an answer
- How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
It took me a month, writing day and night. My characters started talking to me as soon as I sat at my computer and began to type in the first words. They felt I was way overdue in starting.
- What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Far Pavilions – M.M. Kaye – My book is not historical as Kaye’s but it has a purpose and destiny that is unique.
- Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I was visiting the home of my birth in 2008, and several people whom I grew up with asked me when I had planned on writing my first book. It was amazing, because I had talked to no one about the hidden desire I had to write, so they couldn’t have known it. In fact, one person told me he had always expected me to write and wondered what I was waiting on.
- What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
It is multicultural, inspirational, romantic suspense fiction in which I have incorporated aspects of poetry, music and my own love for biblical texts I believe in. Even though inspirational, the book does not avoid sexual intimacy, and humor, hope, and faith runs throughout the book. Most important, this book reveals the strength in women. My female characters are strong women.
That’s it for me. Below are several great writers whom you may want to read.
Peggy Strack – A Stop in the Park
L. W. Smith – Mountain of Death
Merlin Fraser – Inner Space Trilogy
Micki Peluso – And The Whippoorwill Sang
Marta Merajver – Just Toss The Ashes
Nicole Dunlap - Miss Nobody (A Shaw Family Saga)
Ciao,
Pat Garcia
