There are so many books on how awful Trump's presidency is, why don't we just start a book club? Practically guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of you.

Close-up magician, Lee Asher is known for his innovative card feats and hypnotic hand movements. People consider him an authority on playing cards. As a

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A brilliant evocation of the qualities that made FDR one of the most beloved and greatest of American presidents. Drawing on archival material, public speeches, correspondence...

Leila Amos Pendleton was a prominent community activist and a teacher in Washington’s public schools. She was the founder and president of the Alpha Charity Club of Anacostia and the Social Purity Club of Washington, DC. Pendleton was born in 1860 in Washington, DC where she attended the local schools. After completing her own education, she ...

More harmless than malicious, with the exception of the description of one Gilded Age wife, "Feminine Fancies" was the title of a Gilded Age newspaper society column. Without the likes of today's TMZ, Extra, E!, this was a way to cover the society women of the day, and pass on a bit of gossip at the same time. The following is one such column: Gilded Age beauty, and wife to U.S. President, Grover Cleveland, Frances Cleveland, didn't fancy wine. Mrs. Cleveland never drinks wine. Mrs. William Masters is credited with owning $2,000,000 worth of jewelry. Drop on inn to Lady Henry Somerset's Lady Henry Somerset, so it appears in the parliamentary statistics, is the owner of two licensed inns. Unless Mrs. Henry M. Stanley was living like someone on "Hoarders," due to her parasol collection, I'm not sure why this "marvelous" collection was deemed "peculiar" society column news fodder. Mrs. Henry M. Stanley has a peculiar fad. Her hobby is parasols, of which she has a truly marvelous collection. Mrs. Ann Walter Thomas, and English lady otherwise noted as a linguist, has the credit of being the best Welsh scholar living. New York's well-known society woman, Mrs. Marshall O. Roberts who took to husband Colonel Ralph Vivian, of the English army, is said to have presented him a policy on her own life for $100,000. After writing three recent posts on the very popular Washington D.C. wives of the Chinese Minister and Corean Chargés d'Affaires, we at Etiquipedia, sadly, have not been able to find a photo or depiction of either. We especially are quite taken with the descriptions of Mrs. Ye Cha Un. If any of our readers can lead us to a photo, we would be very grateful! The photo above is a depiction of what a Corean/Korean woman of the late 19th Century would have worn. It is from http://english.chosun.com/ Mrs. Tsue Kwo Yin, wife of the Chinese Minister at Washington, never goes out with her husband, but Mrs. Ye Cha Yun, wife of the Corean Chargés d'Affaires left Corean customs at home and goes almost every where her husband goes. Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief... Congressman Springer's wife is NOT a bluestocking intellectual! Congressman Springer's wife is described as a charming little woman, as lively as a cricket, devoted to her home and the interests of her husband. She has written more or less for publication, though she is not a bluestocking. All the young people like her. Poor Mrs. Kipling was on the receiving end of a mean spirited comment, and we are not sure why. We are happy to read she is “bright” and “entertaining,” though. Miss Balastier, who wedded writer Rudyard Kipling, was a New York girl until she went to live with her brother, Walcott Balastier, in London. Kipling's bride is not pretty, but she is very bright and entertaining. She is very petite, blue-eyed and brown haired. A grown up Consuelo Vanderbilt, in a photograph with her two young children. Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt, the 14-year-old daughter of Mr. W. K. Vanderbilt, is a handsome child, with hair and eyes as dark as a Spanish gypsy and the imperious manners of a young princess. She is quite a marvel of erudition and speaks German and French, Chinese and Italian with equal fluency. From Rome New York's, Daily Sentinel, 1891 Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

1. During the Cold War, President Nixon devised a strategy to make the USSR think he was crazy and capable of launching nukes at any moment. It was called the "Madman Theory."

Janie Porter Barrett was a social reformer as an American social reformer, educator, and welfare worker. She established the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls, a pioneering rehabilitation center for African-American female delinquents. She was also the founder of the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. Barrett was ...

Mamie Eisenhower's recipe is famous for being one of the first marshmallow fudges. Here is a simple recipe you can make quickly.

Thomas Jefferson, a man who dedicated much of his life to the idea of liberty, owned more than 600 slaves throughout his lifetime. A new exhibition, "Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty," invites visitors to reconsider what they know about the nation's third president.

A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER! A MORRIS AWARD WINNER! AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK! A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground. "One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels." --Good Morning America A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time Selection Amazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021) A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Selection A PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book Selection With four starred reviews, Angeline Boulley's debut novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, perfect for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange. Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi's hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug. Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims. Now, as the deceptions--and deaths--keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she's ever known. Product DetailsISBN-13: 9781250866035 Media Type: Paperback Publisher: Square Fish Publication Date: 04-25-2023 Pages: 512 Product Dimensions: 8.18h x 5.48w x 1.32d Age Range: 14 - 18 YearsAbout the Author Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island. Firekeeper's Daughter is her debut novel.

Discover Ronald Reagan famous and rare quotes. Share Ronald Reagan quotations about politics, war and liberty. "There is no limit to the amount of..."

In the past, correct spelling, the multiplication tables, the names of the state capitals and the American presidents were basics that all children were taught in school. Today, many children graduate without this essential knowledge. Most curricula today follow a haphazard sampling of topics with a focus on political correctness instead of teaching students how to study. Leigh Bortins, a leading figure in the homeschooling community, is having none of it. She believes that there are core areas of knowledge that are essential to master. Without knowing the multiplication tables, children can't advance to algebra. Without mastery of grammar, students will have difficulty expressing themselves. Without these essential building blocks of knowledge, students may remember information but they will never possess a broad and deep understanding of how the world works. In The Core, Bortins gives parents the tools and methodology to implement a rigorous, thorough, and broad curriculum based on the classical model, including: - Rote memorization to cement knowledge - Systematic learning of geography, historical facts, and timelines - Reading the great books and seminal historical documents instead of adaptations and abridged editions - Rigorous training in math and the natural sciences

She was a groomed for a gilded life in moneyed Houston, but Molly Ivins left the country club behind to become one of the most provocative, courageous, and influential journalists in American history. Presidents and senators called her for advice; her column ran in 400 newspapers; her books, starting with Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?, were bestsellers. But despite her fame, few people really knew her: what her background was, who influenced her, how her political views developed, or how many painful struggles she fought. Molly Ivins is a comprehensive, definitive narrative biography, based on intimate knowledge of Molly, interviews with her family, friends, and colleagues, and access to a treasure trove of her personal papers. Written in a rollicking style, it is at once the saga of a powerful, pugnacious woman muscling her way to the top in a world dominated by men; a fascinating look behind the scenes of national media and politics; and a sobering account of the toll of addiction and cancer. Molly Ivins adds layers of depth and complexity to the story of an American legend -- a woman who inspired people both to laughter and action.

Proof That First Ladies Define Class

There is no shortage of haunted houses in America, but perhaps America's most famous house, the one that resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House. The White House was built near the end of the 18th Century, and today it's composed of 6 stories of 132 rooms and 412 doors. With so many rooms, is it any wonder that some of them are haunted by past presidents and first ladies alike? The more doors in a house, the more of a chance some of them might open and close on their own. But who is haunting the executive mansion and playing havoc on our senses of reality? Most obvious of all, past presidents and their wives are the most frequent haunters of the White House and for some of them their haunting are more memorable than their tenures in office. William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison's presidency lasted less than 32 days back in 1841, yet his ghost can still be heard, rummaging through the White House attic, 168 years later. Harrison was the first President to die while in office, of pneumonia on April 4, 1841. Had he known his presidency would've been so short, William Henry Harrison probably wouldn't have spent two precious hours of it reading his 8,000 word inaugural address. But then again, maybe that's what he's been spending the last 168 years rummaging through the White House attic looking for.  Andrew Jackson  Andrew Jackson was an abrasive fellow, and he was elected the 7th President of the United States in 1828. His toughness earned him the nickname "Old Hickory", so it should come as no surprise to most that death alone couldn't drive him from the White House. In the Rose Bedroom where he used to sleep, White House staff have heard a hearty laughter like Jackson was said to have. Mary Todd Lincoln used to hear cursing from Old Hickory's ghost, and an aid to Lyndon Johnson heard the same sort of yelling in the Rose Bedroom in 1964. Others have heard Jackson stomping around the White House floors in his heavy boots down the halls. Clearly Mr. Jackson was never a quiet fellow, not even in death.  Abraham Lincoln  Abraham Lincoln served the people during the country's most threatening time to the Union-The Civil War. But America's turmoils were not the only thing haunting Mr. Lincoln in his life. In 1862, Lincoln lost his 11 year old son, Willie, to typhoid fever. Abe and his wife Mary often held se'ances in the Green Room to contact Willie's spirit, successfully. Willie Lincoln is also said to have communicated directly with the Ulysses Grant administration. But Willie's father has been a much more active spirit within the walls of the White House. Abe Lincoln is said to have dreamed of his own death. He told Mary Todd that he saw his own assassination three days before he was shot by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. Since that fateful day, the ghost of Lincoln has been seen at the White House more frequently than some of our more recent vacation loving presidents. Calvin Coolidge's wife, Grace, was the first person to spot Lincoln's ghost standing in a window in the Oval Office, and he reappeared to her repeatedly. FDR's valet was so spooked by the ghost of Abe that he ran from the White House screaming. President Harrison's bodyguard once took matters into his own hands when he attended a se'ance to plead with Lincoln to quiet down and let him sleep at night. Ladybird Johnson, wife of Lyndon, saw Abe while she was watching television. Ronald Reagan's daughter and son-in-law both witnessed Lincoln standing next to the fireplace in the Lincoln bedroom. Lincoln's ghost has been blamed for cold and icy spots in various rooms, as well as turning back on chandelier light after they'd been shut off. Lincoln's ghost has appeared to both Winston Churchill and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. In Churchill's case, Lincoln was leaning against the mantle of the fireplace as the nude prime minister exited the bathroom. Lincoln slowly faded away, but Churchill's embarrassment did not. He refused to sleep there again. Queen Wilhemina, fortunately, was clothed when she spotted Lincoln's ghost. One night as she stayed in the Lincoln bedroom, she was awoken with a knock at the door. She opened the door to Lincoln's ghost and promptly fainted. With his many sightings, Lincoln's ghost, like Lincoln himself, seems an introspective and trouble soul.  Dolley Madison Dolley Madison, wife of 4th President James Madison, frequently showed herself during the administration of Woodrow Wilson, 100 years after she lived there. Dolley was first lady from 1809-1817. Dolley's favorite place to haunt is the Rose Garden, which she planted a century earlier. Perhaps she felt as if she were protecting the garden after Woodrow's wife ordered for the garden to be dug up. Workmen kept seeing Dolley, and orders to dig up the garden were buried. The Rose Garden exists unharmed to this day. Abigail Adams Abigail Adams, wife of 2nd President (and 1st President to live in the White House) John Adams. Because the White House wasn't fully complete when the Adams family moved in, the inadequate heating created a problem for drying laundry in an age before washers and driers. Perhaps this is why the ghost of Abigail Adams can sometimes be seen in the East Room on the first floor, which was the warmest and driest room in the White House. There were numerous sightings of her during the Taft administration. Often she was seen with her arms outstretched, just as if she were carrying a load of laundry.  Frances Cleveland Her cries can be heard coming from a second floor bedroom. In 1891 Frances became the first First Lady to give birth in the White House, to a daughter named Ruth. Whether or not these ex-presidents and first ladies still really roam the halls and haunt the rooms of the White House, it's clear that something about them remains. Perhaps they're just memories materializing into celestial visions of great leaders forever trapped in our subconscious. Or perhaps they really never leave office, one we elect them and trust them with the most important job on earth. Either way, the White House doesn't seem destined to ever rest in peace. 

The Ethnic Origins of Confederate First Lady Varina Howell Davis, Wife of Jefferson Davis. [Dated article from robots in masquerade dot blogspot dot com] Picture above of Jefferson Davis and his ne…

A ranking of all the best books about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Part 34 of our Best Presidential Books Series.

From '100 Years of Solitude' to 'Gone Girl,' here are some of the books President Barack Obama has loved most.

Over the years, the role of first lady has been filled by a range of personalities. Some of these women stayed in the background while others used their position to advocate for specific issues. A few first ladies even played an important role within their husband's administration, working alongside the president to help enact policies. As a result, the role of first lady has evolved over the years. Each first lady chosen for this list used their position and influence to institute changes in our nation. Here's a list of 5 influential First Ladies and their cool vintage portraits before they set foot in The White House. 1. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, holding the post from March 1933 to April 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office. President Harry S. Truman later called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements. A 3 year old Eleanor Roosevelt is rocking some wide-cut bangs and curls in the back, 1887. Portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt taken in New York, NY. 1889. Eleanor Roosevelt school portrait, 1898. 2. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Jackie Kennedy is remembered for her contributions to the arts and preservation of historic architecture, as well as for her style, elegance, and grace. She was a fashion icon; her famous ensemble of pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat has become symbolic of her husband's assassination and one of the lasting images of the 1960s. She ranks as one of the most popular First Ladies and in 1999 was named on Gallup's list of Most Admired Men and Women in 20th century America. Jacqueline Bouvier (c. 1934) at age 4. Jacqueline with her dog Bonnett in 1935. Sixteen-year old Jacqueline Bouvier vamps for the camera at a Newport tennis court. 3. Elizabeth Bloomer Ford Betty Ford was married to the only President never elected to the White House, the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford. Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and remained active in the feminist movement. She was the founder, and served as the first chair of the board of directors, of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (co-presentation with her husband, Gerald R. Ford, October 21, 1998) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (presented 1991 by George H. W. Bush). Betty Bloomer, age 3. April 1921. Betty Bloomer, age 17, at the Kent Country Club, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1935. Betty Bloomer near the age of 20, ca. 1938. 4. Nancy Davis Reagan Nancy Reagan became First Lady of the United States in January 1981 following her husband's election. She restored a Kennedy-esque glamour to the White House following years of lax formality, and her interest in high-end fashion garnered much attention, as well as criticism. She championed recreational drug prevention causes by founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign during the 1980s, which was considered her major initiative as First Lady. Nancy Davis at age 6. Nancy Davis around age 8. Nancy Davis portrait from the play "Make with the Maximum" at Smith College. Northhampton, Massachusetts. 1943. 5. Hillary Rodham Clinton During Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, Hillary emerged as a dynamic and valued partner, and during his subsequent presidency, Hillary took on far more than the traditional role of the first lady. In 1993 Bill selected her to head the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. The controversial commission produced a complicated plan that never came to the floor of either house. It was abandoned in September 1994. Despite this failure, Hillary's involvement deepened her interest in health care, and combining her new-found experience with her past work involving child- and family-advocacy groups she championed a number of related causes. In 1997 she was influential in the creation creation of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provided state funding for children whose parents could not afford to pay for their health care, and she was also instrumental in the passing of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, a series of reforms aimed at American adoption and foster-care systems. When Hillary Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2001, she became the only American first lady to hold national office. She became the 67th U.S. secretary of state in 2009, serving until 2013. Hillary Clinton as a teenager. Young portrait of Hillary Clinton. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Massachusetts in 1969 during her student days at Wellesley College.

First Lady Mamie Eisenhower 1953 TIME over art by Boris Chaliapin

Among the Trump era's savviest insiders, one name stands especially tall: Kellyanne. As a highly respected pollster for corporate and Republican clients and a frequent television talk show guest, Kellyanne Conway had already established herself as one of the brightest lights on the national political scene when Donald Trump asked her to run his presidential campaign. She agreed, delivering him to the White House, becoming the first woman in American history to manage a winning presidential campaign, and changing the American landscape forever. Who she is, how she did it, and who tried to stop her is a fascinating story of personal triumph and political intrigue that has never been told...until now. In Here's The Deal, Kellyanne takes you on a journey all the way to the White House and beyond with her trademark sharp wit, raw honesty, and level eye. It's all here: what it's like to be dissected on national television. How to outsmart the media mob. How to outclass the crazy critics. How to survive and succeed male-dominated industries. What happens when the perils of social media really hit home. And what happens when the divisions across the country start playing out in one's own family. In this open and vulnerable account, Kellyanne turns the camera on herself. What she has to share--about our politics, about the media, about her time in the White House, and about her personal journey--is an astonishing glimpse of visibility and vulnerability, of professional and personal highs and lows, and ultimately, of triumph. Product DetailsISBN-13: 9781982187347 Media Type: Hardcover Publisher: Threshold Editions Publication Date: 05-24-2022 Pages: 512 Product Dimensions: 6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.70(d)About the Author Kellyanne Conway served as senior counselor in President Trump’s White House. She was the founder of the polling company, inc./WomenTrend, a business she had for twenty-one years, and now runs KAConsulting LLC. Kellyanne served as the campaign manager to the Trump-Pence presidential campaign, becoming the first woman to successfully manage such a campaign. She is one of the most quoted and noted pollsters on the national scene. As a “fully recovered” attorney, Kellyanne is licensed to practice law in four jurisdictions. She holds a law degree, with honors, from George Washington University Law School. She is mother to four school-age children.Read an Excerpt Read an Excerpt Chapter 1: Golden Time Chapter 1 Golden Time I have an early memory of my father. The two of us are eating pancakes together, sitting at the kitchen table like normal families do, acting as if the scene was certain to repeat itself a million times over. So here’s what’s strange about that father-daughter breakfast: I’m not sure if it really happened or if it’s only wishful thinking on my part. But I cling to that early, early memory of us because it’s the only one I have. John Kainath Fitzpatrick was his name. I was three when he left for “the other woman” and “the other child.” He and my two grandfathers had eight children with their wives and another eight children out of wedlock with their... nonwives. The men in our family didn’t just have side pieces. They didn’t just have comares, as we say in Italian. They had side families. And it wasn’t a secret to anyone. They all went off to be with those other families, leaving their original wives and children to face their own new normals and fend for themselves. Which is how I came to be raised by a houseful of strong, independent, wonderfully loving women who were pretty sure the whole world revolved around me. I was born Kellyanne Fitzpatrick in Camden, New Jersey, on January 20, 1967. I favored my father’s Irish side, with light skin and bright blue eyes, quickly becoming a stocky and curious little girl who was bursting with energy and thought almost everything was fun. My mother, Diane DiNatale Fitzpatrick, 100 percent Italian, the youngest of four sisters, had expected to devote her life to raising a big, happy family. Instead she was married at twenty-one, had me at barely twenty-three, and was divorced at twenty-six, never to seriously date again. When my father left, she got busy, not mad, ready to do whatever it took to provide for herself and especially for me—shielding me from adult problems and letting me be a kid. Jobs at her father’s Chrysler-Plymouth auto dealership, the local bank, and then a higher-paying position as a gaming supervisor at Atlantic City’s Claridge Casino allowed her the dignity of work and an ability to spoil me by 1970s and 1980s New Jersey standards (read: inexpensively). We moved back in with her mother and two unmarried sisters at the old homestead, 375 Hendricks Avenue in tiny Atco, where the four women shared bedrooms so I could have my own. My grandmother, Antoinette Lombardo DiNatale, was the unquestioned matriarch of our family. She, like my father’s mother, Claire Muriel (Kainath) Fitzpatrick, had the selflessness, patience, and poise of a woman who had trudged through the Great Depression, foreign wars, and battles at home. Grandmom, as we called my mother’s mother, suffered through a devastating car crash in her forties that took the life of her sister-in-law and left Grandmom bedridden for a year. She was told she would never walk again. She heard what the doctor said, then willed her way through it with prayers to St. Jude (the patron saint of lost causes), a fused hip, the hint of a limp, and zero self-pity. My father’s mother had crippling arthritis and buried two of her eight grandchildren, one from leukemia at age eight and another from an automobile accident at eighteen. Despite my father’s long absence, I maintained loving relationships with his sisters, Aunt Gail and Aunt Ruth, and their children, Gaillynn, Tony, Sammy, Diana, A.J., and Jillese, and later my father’s son Scott. Grandmothers Antoinette and Claire did nothing for the glory, for the praise, for the honor, or for the money. Nothing. They were ladies with limited formal education and endless wisdom. They certainly had plenty to complain about. But to this day, I never remember either of my grandmothers complaining about anything. They smiled through their physical pain and emotional scars. They made our lives easier. And they would remain friends and travel buddies for decades past their children’s divorce. They were just spectacular. That stone rancher at the corner of Route 30 (White Horse Pike) and Hendricks Avenue was bursting with love. Grandmom and my aunts Rita (“RoRo”) and Marie (“MiMi”) all took a daily hand in raising me, as did the aunts’ married sister, GiGi (for Angela, whom we also called Angie), who stopped by nearly every afternoon with her two children, my first cousins and first friends, Renee and James (“Jay”). Together these vibrant women were South Jersey’s version of TV’s “Golden Girls,” with housecoats, biting humor, late-night dessert benders, and life lessons. Grit was practically a genetic trait with them, but so was an ability to make everyone feel welcomed, special, and loved. Our wooden kitchen table was like the town square. Visitors filled their bellies and eased their burdens. Laughter was the theme song. My mother’s sisters were charitable with their time and modest treasure, frank in all their attitudes, and, as I can see looking back, way ahead of their time. Aunt Angie and her husband, Uncle Eddie, owned Mama D’s Italian Specialties and the Country Farm Market, thirty yards in front of my house. Aunt Rita had been a technician in a doctor’s office for decades and then owned a “custard” (soft-serve ice cream) shop and mini-golf course with Angie and Eddie next to the market. MiMi, who’d helped her father run his businesses, later returned to teaching eighth-grade math. She was known to her students as strict and mean because she didn’t take excuses for late assignments and didn’t try to be their friend. Then, years later, when they’d run across her around town, they’d often remark, “Thank you. You cared about us. You prepared me for high school. You taught me how to think.” These women didn’t preach equality. They lived it. Why march in a parade or label yourself when your back door swings open for all comers, your heart and home open to all? My values and compassion for others were instilled by them, their careful nudging, our shared Catholic faith and their adherence to the Golden Rule. They knelt for the Lord and stood for the flag. Their love was unsparing and unconditional. What all that meant for me was an unshakably secure upbringing despite whatever circumstances might have pointed the other way. Whenever I felt awkward or unsure of myself, as all kids do, those women were right there for me, telling me how unique I was, that I could do and be anything, and that if I changed my mind (or couldn’t cut it in “the real world”), I could always come home. Most parents and loved ones convey this to their kids. Mine absolutely meant it. As millions of women know, you don’t need to have a child of your own to love children. We all spoil someone else’s son or daughter at some time. My aunts Rita and Marie forwent marriage and motherhood and instantly had the center of gravity in their home shift to the needs of a little one. GiGi found herself with a niece/third-child combo. Led by Mom and Grandmom, this circle of selfless women took all the love they had inside them and lavished it on me. FROM THE DAY I started talking, I didn’t stop. Probing. Pontificating. Polling people. Performing every chance I got. Constantly asking questions that started with “how come...?” I’d line up my dolls and stuffed animals like I was in a courtroom and they were my jury. They all sat there in stunned silence as I played judge, prosecutor, defense counsel, and all the witnesses. I loved to mimic whatever I’d just seen on television, and we certainly watched a ridiculous amount of it. I had an aptitude for remembering names and numbers, dates and data. I

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Doris Kearns Goodwin is an American biographer, historian, and political commentator.

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