Saturday, April 25, 2009

wit and wisdom






I was fortunate enough this week to hear two speakers who profoundly moved me; one into laughter and one into history. Both with an acute sense of self, a sense of their surroundings and of their place among a long line of others. A common factor was their appetite for reading and their respect for learning, both making note of the scarcity. They graciously received a roaring applause for sharing their wit and wisdom. And this reminded me of the necessity to 'teach our children well', the imperative role we have to ensure reading and the arts, and to rely upon ourselves rather than our schools alone. These men exemplified the results of the craving that sets in once exposed to the timeless telling of stories.

You can't be a full participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.
~David McCullough


I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out. ~David Sedaris

tactile tales here by la pomme

3 comments:

lotta said...

Lucky you who got to listen in on Mr.McCullough and Mr. Sedaris ... and thank you so much for highlighting la pomme's art books. They are lovely.

Isabelle said...

how stitches can become pure poetry ... thanks for the discovery

Julia said...

You lucky duck! How wonderful to have the opportunity to listen to these people :) I love the images in this post too!