Titles to Write By, Monday Muse, Black History Month, A Birthday, Gumdrops and Being Thankful

"Titles" is an occasional blog post in which we play with a single word and turn it into, what else, titles! Afterwards the object is to pick one of them and write a little something.

It was Ray Bradbury, in his book ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING, who taught me about making lists of words and turning them into titles. If you haven't read it I highly recommend it.

For no particular reason today's word is: 

Friend/Friendship
(Okay, technically that's two words, but who cares?)

The word friend, from the Old English freond, is Germanic in origin and comes from an Indo-European root that means "to love." A word that shares the same root is the word "free." 

The Friendship Ring

My Friend's Friend

The Friend Behind the Mask

The Book of Friends

Lost and Found Friend

The Monday Muse

In which we dress up as one of the nine muses, pretend we are Greek, and play with one of the titles.

The Friend Behind the Mask

They think she's odd. Perhaps it's because most of the time, she's too happy, too filled with joy. Or perhaps it's because her filter is a bit askew and she blurts out what she thinks and feels.

But then, she's a hermit, so when she decides to be among other humans she throws flowers at them that may have barbs attached.

She makes them uncomfortable because she so easily laughs at herself, laughs at them and how they take themselves so seriously. Her mask is different from what they expect a mask to look like because it's more transparent than they're used to.

So when I leaned in and said, "I think I understand you better than most," she smiled wide, hugged me and said, "I know you do, you always have."

***

In honor of Black History Month I'm sharing with you a few famous Virgin Islanders, both American and British.

Terence Todman, (1926-2014)  U. S. Ambassador, had quite a distinguished career. Born in St. Thomas, he served in the military in Japan between 1945-49. His ambassadorships were diverse.

Chad: 1969-72

Guinea: 1972-75

Costa Rica: 1975-77

Spain: 1978-83

Denmark: 1983-89

Argentina: 1989-93

***

Today is Susan B. Anthony's birthday (1820- 1906). A Quaker and an activist, she started out being active in the temperance movement. But when she wasn't allowed to speak at rallies, she joined the the women's rights movement and dedicated her life to women's suffrage. She also campaigned for the abolition of slavery, and the right for women to hold property and keep whatever they earned. We owe a lot to this keen minded, determined, and compassionate woman.

It's National Gumdrop Day!

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for FRIENDS.

And I will leave it at that.

***

What are you thankful for? Got a title to share? Is your muse inspired? What about Terence and Susan? Do you like gumdrops and the way they stick to your teeth?