We Come From Inspiration

Marcus and Nanny

My grandmother says "Everything has a story."

In lieu of a post about me (you may find links to my blogs and photography pages at the end of the post), may I introduce you to two of the most inspiring people I know? Nanny, my grandmother and Marcus, my son.

Nanny will be 89 this May. A product of her time, the Great Depression, World War II--the 20th Century helped mold her but not define her. So let me tell you about a book, breast cancer and 300 home-baked pies.

Women in every generation have had a lot to overcome, and often it seems as if obstacles arrive daily. Twenty years ago, diagnosed with breast cancer she called up the hospital on the day of her radical mastectomy to demand they reschedule. The extra hours of intake and anesthesia testing conflicted with her fund-raising luncheon to "build an elevator for the old people" (her words, not mine) at her church, and she still had another ten pies to bake (out of 300) before 11am. "In no way" she told them could she make it to the hospital before 2:30. She went in for surgery at 3pm and has been breast cancer-free since.

Our Wedding --cred Paulsen Photography

Just last December, she finished her book, an in-depth study of the Keck windows (Mr. Keck apprenticed with Tiffany) of her church and the history Cicero NY. She's spoken with the Syracuse University (where she also set up a scholarship for two students who participate in their Environmental Studies program) Press, and hopefully it will be released within the year.

How could I not be inspired by this woman?

Or my son, who at five years-old already creates his own roller coasters, writes his own stories (here is an example of one from 2009)... Yesterday he came down from designing a pinball game on his computer to ask me how to spell Einstein. And he's known more about our solar system and space exploration than me for years now.

Having them in my life reminds me of the song Harry Belafonte made famous: Turn the World Around. For truly we come from the fire. (And coincidentally this was Marcus's favorite song for a long time, especially this version done with Jim Henson's Muppets.)

"We come from the fire
Livin' in the fire
Go back to the fire
Turn the world around

We come from the water
Livin' in the water
Go back to the water
Turn the world around

We come from the mountain
Livin' on the mountain
Go back to the mountain
Turn the world around"

Nimble Fingers

I see a continuity to life where our part is a small one, a moment of time. Many are probably familiar with the poem by Linda Ellis called The Dash where she compares our lives to that "dash" between the dates of our birth and death on a tombstone. It's true. But there is another, in my opinion, greater point that this poem doesn't address. When you put a lot of dashes together, you make a line. Actually, you get a multitude of lines, because there is not a one of us who does not touch many others in our time. And with a multitude of lines, you beget tapestries and art and panoramas. You beget worlds. And such is the way of print, as writers and story tellers. We beget worlds from a multitude of dashes all connected to each other.

We come from inspiration; we go back to inspiration. We turn the world around.

(While still learning daily about life, Eden Mabee writes science fantasy stories, teaches herself photography and enjoys the wonderful company of her husband and son. She collects feral cats, odd do-dads, and historical trivia, all of which find homes in prose eventually. In her blog A Garden of Delights, she explores those things that inspire creativity. While Many Worlds From Many Minds follows her writing journey with all its twists and turns. You can find her pictures on Imgur and Flickr under her Twitter name @Kymele. She spends far too much time in front of her computer screen.)