Tea at Trianon: Happy Birthday, Mom!

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, July 20, 2012

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It is hard to believe that my feisty and beautiful mother turns seventy-three today. The descendant of Spanish conquistadors, Chinese pirates, and Alabama Confederates is more energetic than ever, still driving like a bat out of hell.

My mom as a baby in her fath er's arms, in the Philippines, shortly before the Japanese occupation and her father's internment in the concentration camp. More HERE and HERE.

With her brother David in Birmingham, Alabama in 1947 after surviving the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

Wedding day on October 14, 1961, Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle, Washington.

In Gaithersburg, Maryland. She read to us a lot when we were little.

What a survivor! She is still taking care of all of us today, and lots of other people, too. Happy Birthday, Mama Alice! Share

6 comments:

Allison said...: What a loving tribute to your mother, God bless her! It is evident how much you admire her and the fruits of her mothering.

It is a delight that you share these photos with us. I know that when I come to your blog I will be whisked away to another time and place.

You are magical, that way.; July 20, 2010 at 11:25:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: LOL@ still driving like a bat out of hell!

Happy birthday, Alice! May God grant her many more happy, healthy years!

L&P,
Gette; July 20, 2012 at 12:44:00 PM EDT
julygirl said...: Still drving like a bat out of hell and still racking up enough traffic tickets to support small municipalities.; July 20, 2012 at 6:07:00 PM EDT
Nancy Reyes said...: linked; July 20, 2012 at 8:00:00 PM EDT
May said...: What a blessing, a good mother.

The whole story of your family is very touching and providential.; July 20, 2012 at 10:56:00 PM EDT
Gio said...: What a lovely and touching post!

A very happy birthday to your mother!; July 21, 2012 at 3:47:00 AM EDT