Category Archives: Education

Life is Comedy and Mystery

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“Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucius

fanny flaggDeath is no laughing matter, until it comes to Fannie Flagg’s humor. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is a funny story about Elner Shimfissle living in the town of Elmwood, Missouri. This story is about small town America at it’s best. Elmwood is a place where everyone knows everyone. People stick together and help each other out.

When high spirited Elner, one of Elmwood’s most beloved community members, passes away after being stung by wasps, she inspires a whole town to consider some of the absurdities and truths about life.

As stated by the Rocky Mountain News  “Elner emerges quite the character…a woman who uses the mind and heart she’s been given… ”

Fannie Flagg, one of America’s most talented humorists, takes us through a rollicking story that will warm your heart and keep you laughing. The characters are so charming, you will love this “feel good” story.

fanny flagg cant wait to get to heavenPick up this comedy-mystery at your library or at your favorite neighborhood bookstore.Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven will remind you not to take life too seriously and to have some fun with those who make your life fulfilling while you are living on this planet called Earth.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on the memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link.http://amzn.to/141aW6S

 

 

Place of Beauty and Reflection

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“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” ― Henry Ward Beecher

Today, we will switch gears. It’s been snowing here in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and the temperatures have become winter like. They’ve dipped below zero already. Before I let go of autumn I want to share one more group of fall photos.

On the last day of my book tour on the East Coast, my sister-in-law Grace said “I want to take you over to the Cylburn Arboretum.”

“Sounds good,” I said. If you know me, you know any place that has to do with trees and flowers piques my interest!” The Cylburn Arboretum didn’t ring a bell from my days of growing up in Baltimore but I was up for one more adventure before I headed back to Northwestern Colorado.

As we drove along, we came to some very familiar turf! “Oh, my gosh, Grace!Look at that. There’s Sinai Hospital!” ,” I said. “Wow – do I ever have memories of that place!”  http://www.lifebridgehealth.org/Sinai/Sinai1.aspx. This is where I came for my pediatric check-ups after my “pioneering” heart surgery at Johns Hopkins.

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“The Cylburn is right across the street!” Grace said.

Now the largest public garden in Baltimore,  The Cylburn Mansion with it’s beautiful grounds were once owned by a Quaker businessman, Jesse Tyson, who was President of Baltimore Chrome Works (later Allied Chemical). He came from a family who made their fortune mining iron, chromium and copper. Jesse’s brother, James ran mining operations in the states of Pennyslvania, Georgia, California and Vermont. For more information, please visit this link. http://cylburn.org/about-us/history/.

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Today, The Cylburn Arboretum is also home to The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.http://bit.ly/112G6Zj. The greenhouses this time of year were filled with poinsettias along with other aquaponic plants.

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Oh, what a lovely place the Cylburn Arboretum is. Thank you, Grace. It was a delightful morning spent in such a quiet, peaceful, reflective place. It seems we are always surrounded by our big family when you and I are together! It was delightful being just with you! Even in October, the plantings and flowers at the Cylburn Arboretum were gorgeous.

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The Cylburn Arboretum was the last stop I made along the path of my East Coast book tour. How blessed I am to be alive to share my story. For more information on the award-winning memoir  “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected,” please visit this link.http://amzn.to/141aW6S. The publication is available in audio, paperback and e-book.

 

The Reality of Life

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“Trust life a little bit.” ~ Maya Angelou

Have we become a society that is far too difficult to please?  Sometimes I think we need to focus on being less picky about what we eat and remember how many people go to bed hungry.

I heard some statistics from a speaker from the Boys and Girls Club last Friday about the number of children who have their only nutritious meal at school or at the Boys and Girls Club. It was astounding how many kids, right here in America, want nothing more than to go to bed at night with a full stomach. It wouldn’t matter to them whether milk was whole, low fat, two percent, skim, coconut or almond, for instance. For them, just having enough to eat would be the height of living a life fulfilled.

Granted for some people with real health issues food choices are necessary and specialized diets are very important.  But, at the risk of sounding like an old fogey who repeats stories like “when I was a kid we had to walk 10 miles to school, all up hill, in blizzards, without any shoes,” I’d just like to say how persnickety we have become as a society when it comes to food. Back when I was a child there was one choice:

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Because our society as a whole has become so focused on every little thing we put in our mouths, we forget to be grateful that there is even food on the table. There are so many other things in life that should hold more importance, because when you come down to it –

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Would you agree or does my statement sound silly, naïve or uninformed? Maybe my attitude is just too square. It seems as if living with balance has become a foreign concept.

NO MATTER WHAT WE EAT…..

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In whose hand is the life of everything, and the breath of all mankind? ~Job 12:10

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on the award winning memoir, an anthology of stories, please visit this website.http://amzn.to/141aW6S.

Feeding the Needy through Literacy

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Harvest Book CompetitionLast Saturday I participated in The Harvest Book Reading Contest, sponsored by  MANASPIRITS.  Since Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected won in the Young Adult Category, I was given the opportunity to read aloud from my memoir during the nationally broadcast blog talk radio show. To view the e-magazine which was published in conjunction with the contest and to read about the other finalists, please follow this link.https://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/3/97499/340894/pub/.

 

kids-readingThe purpose of this event was to “feed community literary passions while helping to feed the hungry.” I was so pleased to be included in this nationally broadcast radio show. Children’s hunger is always a good cause to support.

Proceeds went to St Mary’s Food Bank Alliance http://www.firstfoodbank.org/ which is the world’s first food bank, organized in 1967. This event alone raised enough money to fund 5,000 Thanksgiving meals for people in need.

Fueling literary passions, another mission of the Harvest Book Reading Contest, is also such a worthy cause.  It has been said that “no skill is more crucial to the future of a child, or to a democratic and prosperous society, than literacy.”

In my opinion, we need opportunities no matter how small or large, to send messages to every child in America that books are the most valued material thing they can have in their lives. Above all else. And reading is the key to all understanding.

Thank you to the folks at MANASPIRITS who organized this event. I greatly appreciated being involved with it. And congratulations to all the other category winners!

This blog is brought to you by  author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her book, which is winning awards in the young adult category, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt

Building Skills for Great Futures

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The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. ~ Diogenes

Last Friday I attended our monthly meeting of the Yampa Valley University Women. We had a wonderful speaker, Lynna Broyles, from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado. Her program was so informative and designed to educate people about the programs of this non-profit youth development organization.

Here are the five core programs that are available for boys and girls to get involved with. They make their own choices based on their interests:

  • Character & Leadership
  • Education & Career Development
  • Health & Life Skills
  • The Arts
  • Sports, Fitness & Recreation

Some figures were cited with regards to how many children in the NW Colorado Boys and Girls Club get their only hot meals for the day at school and at the Boys and Girls Club. For me those numbers were astounding and troubling. Thankfully, all youth, regardless of their parents’ socio-economic status can be involved in the program. Scholarships are available for youth who struggle with the annual membership fee ($25/annually).

The clubs are staffed by trained youth development professionals. Many very successful business people, athletes, and prestigious people in our country got a strong foundation through Boys & Girls Clubs. Youth programs as well as literacy programs are so important to the future of children in our country. Often these programs open doors and futures to much greater things. What a gift the Boys and Girls Clubs are to so many children! http://www.bgca.org/newsevents/Pages/GFSH_PSA.aspx

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Moment with childThis blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of the EVVY award-winning book Gift of A Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For more information on the book which has also won an award in the young adult category, please follow this link.http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt.

 

Helping Children Map a Future

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“Here is the treasure chest of the world – the public library, or a bookstore.” ― Ben Carson, Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence

Baltimore, Maryland. The home of Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College, Towson University, and many other colleges and outstanding schools in the greater Baltimore area.

A few weeks ago, I returned to Towson, in the suburbs of Baltimore, to do a book signing at Ukazoo Books for my memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. I found out something related to literacy and education that I didn’t know existed.

Towson, the town of my native roots,  is the home of The Carson Scholars Fund. This non-profit organization awards top performing students (both academic and humanitarian) through their scholarship program (Carson Scholarships). It also provides funding to schools to build libraries where children can learn to appreciate reading and books outside of a classroom in a comforting and warm environment provided for their enjoyment.

To date, The Carson Scholars Fund, which was started in 1996 by Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon, Ben Carson and his wife Candy has awarded 6200 scholarships and provided funding to 100 libraries. The scholarships have been given to deserving students in 50 U.S. States.
Ben Carson.We are so very fortunate to have in this country, outstanding citizens who are helping children map a future for themselves. Their generosity in giving scholarship money and building resources such as libraries and institutions of higher learning is what sets our country apart and makes it “America the Beautiful.” I read this book and I  put in on my recommended reading list.

To discover more about The Carson Scholars Fund, please visit and explore this website.http://www.carsonscholars.org/dr-ben-carson/general-information.

This blog is brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on her EVVY award-winning memoir, an anthology of stories called Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt

Film Friday: The Theory of Everything

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Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. ~ Stephen Hawking

The theory of everythingMany film fans have been waiting for the biopic film The Theory of Everything. It is the story of Stephen Hawking, the famous scientist (cosmologist/physicist) and his marriage to his first love, Jane. The wait is over! Today it will be released in theatres across the country.

The film is a love story, but parts, from a few of the reviews I’ve read are a little difficult to watch because the audience watches the sad physical decline of Hawking due to his advancing ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Hawking was diagnosed when we was 21 years old, just prior to meeting Jane.

Admittedly, he says up until his diagnosis he was a “wastrel” who loved to party. Once he was advised his lifespan would be limited due to his condition, he began to fully use his brilliant mind studying the big bang theory and dark holes.

The drama is said to be a beautiful story and a great testimony to a brilliant mind.

For more information on The Theory of Everything, directed by James Marsh, visit this link.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2980516/.

This blog brought to you by the EVVY award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. Tomorrow listen into http://www.blogtalkradio.com/richerlife to hear the author reading from her memoir Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Follow this link to see the broadcast times of the Harvest Book Reading contest https://allthingsfulfilling.com/2014/10/29/2014-harvest-book-reading-competition/

 

The Gift of Time

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Thank God for his priceless gifts and miracles around the world. ~ Unknown

“Good morning, Sunshine!” I said to myself as we began down a long cornfield-lined road, with sun rays gleaming on the dried golden stalks. It was a gorgeous morning on the Chesapeake. My parents and I were headed to a landmark that harkened to us from Route 213 in Kent County, Maryland.

As we drove up to the Shrewsbury Parish Church I said, “I feel as if I could be in England. This place looks like something from a British show on PBS.” All the while, I was thinking of the Vicar of Dibley, a program that I loved that is now longer broadcast.

We walked the grounds, peaked in the windows, read ages old headstones and just enjoyed being together as parents and adult child taking in the wonders of the season and the beautiful surroundings. Before we left the grounds, the Rector Rev. Henry M. Sabetti stopped and we chatted. We talked about my new memoir and I gave him a bookmark of  Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt.

Today, I’d like to share images with our readers. If you are interested in reading more about this historic church on the Eastern shores of Chesapeake Bay country, please visit this website.http://www.shrewsburyparish.org/Shrewsbury_Parish/About_Us.html.

It’s been wonderful spending time with my family while being on my East Coast book tour. That morning was just one of many treasured early lights of day that I have spent with my parents. Now I head back to the wild, wild west!

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IMG_20141028_114420_973The two gravestones above must be for all the mothers and fathers who are in this final resting place in the churchyard of Shrewsbury Parish.

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The Dream of Freedom

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“Every great dreamer begins with a dream. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman
IMG_20141030_135054_661There is a National Monument in Dorchester County, Maryland dedicated to the honor of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The resistance movement was a network of people who helped slaves escape and begin free lives.

Araminta “Minty” Ross, was born into slavery in Dorchester County in 1822 and later became known as Harriet Tubman when she married freeman John Tubman. She became one of the most famous agents of the Underground Railroad who risked her life returning 13 times to rescue family and friends and help them cross the Pennsylvania line to freedom. She intimately knew how to secretly navigate the tidal stream waters and was the first woman to lead an armed U.S. Military assault.

By the time of her death in 1913, she became known as “Moses of her people” for her activism in the women’s suffrage movement, the Underground Railroad, her strong faith and her founding of a home for the elderly and disadvantaged.

In March 2013, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation creating Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Tubman’s story is so rich in American history that the U.S. Department of the Interior has begun constructing a park that is to become a new National Park in the heart of the Chesapeake Country Heritage area.

The Harriet Tubman Freedom Byway takes tourists on a 125 mile driving tour to Tubman’s home and to other landmarks that are significant to the Underground Railroad story.

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There is already the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center at 424 Race Street in Cambridge, Maryland. Visitors can access resources about this American hero who was so active in the decades leading up to the civil war.

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My visit to the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center really peaked my interest in learning more about this tale of a freedom and liberation and the risks of the Underground Railroad. I am going to start with a book suggested to me by a docent at the museum called “Song Not Yet Sung” by James McBride.

Abolitionist Thomas Garrett said of Harriet Tubman “I never met a person of any color who had more confidence in the voice of God, as spoken directly through her soul.”

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For more information, please visit these websites. http://www.nps.gov/hatu, http://www.nps.gov/ugrr and http://www.harriettubman.com. Here are some photos of my visit to the Harriet Tubman Educational Center.

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This museum also has information about other early prominent African American people in fields of law, journalism, medicine, arts, math and science, music, military/government , dance & theatre.

IMG_20141030_133059_040This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her publication “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt.

Wandering Early Places of Worship

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“Ghosts wandering here and there troop home to churchyards.” ~ William Shakespeare

Today, as promised, I’d like to share more about my fulfilling travels to  St Paul’s Kent in Rockhall, Maryland. If you are ever in the area, do stop by and visit this historic Anglican Church. It was organized in 1692 after William and Mary ruled England.  The historical facts about the church are many but, here is a brief synopsis about the structures in the 19 acre churchyard.

  • The first building was 40 X 24 ft – erected by Daniel Norris (1695 – 1696)
  • The present church was constructed in 1713 at the cost of 70,000 lbs of tobacco
  • 34 pews were contained in the original structure
  • It is only one of four 18th Century churches to have a semicircular apse
  • Church walls feature Flemish bond brickwork
  • Semicircular arches are above doors and windows
  • Church remodeled in 1940 with an addition adding 23 new pews
  • The stained glass window in the chancel cost $250 back in 1864
  • The church bell was installed also in 1864 for $10
  • The Marble baptismal font was a gift by the congregation to the church in 1863
  • The Parish House, offices and classrooms were added in the later part of the 20th Century.
  • Actress Tallulah Bankhead is buried in the churchyard at St Paul’s Kent.

Although our country is relatively new compared to European history, getting out and exploring historic churches and museums in Maryland is a fascinating way to spend a beautiful fall day. Not too far from St Pauls, Kent is the African-American Schoolhouse Museum.http://bit.ly/1tFqu9R. Since I was headed north to another historic church called Shrewsbury Parish, I’ve saved that museum until I return next time to the Eastern shore of Maryland.

I hope you enjoy these images of the historic landmark church St Paul’s Kent. It is a beautiful and holy place for reflection and meditation!

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Below Photos: Another structure in the churchyard – Circa 1766 according to bricks on the side of the building. This building was inaccessible but peaking through the windows there were identical fireplaces on each side of the interior of the structure. The photo of the fireplace was taken through old windowpane.

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IMG_20141028_151351_247Happy Halloween, everybody. On Monday I will making revelations about my mother and our stop at Shrewsbury Parish – off at the beaten path of the Eastern shore of Maryland.

This blog is brought to you by http://www.AllThingsFulfilling.com.For information on Sue Batton Leonard’s EVVY award-winning memoir, please visit this link http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt.