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Texas, United States

1/21/2013

Human Nature Is Fascinating To Contemplate

George  Martin-excerpt from Game Of Thrones


I have read a lot more non-fiction than I have fiction throughout my life. That preference was probably inspired by my piano teacher in second grade, though I can’t blame the  lesson plan she created for me for the opinions I reached reading about the private lives of well known composers, authors, artists, politicians, and otherwise "powerful" men and women in the annals of history. 

I didn't stop with the classical composers, such as Mozart, that teacher made me read, he was just the first character that surprised me because his personality was so different than what I had expected a musical genius to be in his time period. Amadeus acted more like the uninhibited rock and roll stars of the latter half of the 20th century. 

Human nature has fascinated me for as long as I can remember.  I was driven to find out as much as I could about “the creators” and “movers and shakers” from early childhood on.  That quirk was probably also inspired living in the "golden age" of so many world known celebrities and leaders with strong personalities in the 20th century. Ernest Hemingway, Kathryn Hepburn, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Ingrid Bergman, and our Presidents, all intrigued me with their brilliance, and fascinated me with their individual personal characteristics.

Dancing down a curious path reading  memoirs, biography's, newspapers and magazines, I came to find out for certain, in print, and in my own personal life, that "love" doesn't always follow the boundaries set upon it by a so called “polite and proper society.” I also found in literature and real life that women are likely to be more ostracised for straying from the "norm" than men are, and have been ever since Eve and Mary Magdalene. I was taught as a child that Mary Magdalene was nothing more than a whore and now I see churches named after her so I suppose time does change perspective.

The affairs of our presidents are certainly nothing new. They have been going on for hundreds of years and probably will continue for many more. From Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson, John Garfield, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy and Clinton, United States presidents have had all sorts of dalliances. Never the less, it didn't seem to blemish their honored spots in history, these men all have a lot of schools and airports named after them.
Human nature...it is fascinating to experience, engage, read about, and contemplate. There simply isn't any pattern, rhyme, or reason...we each have our own individual personality's and no two are alike. I still wonder if I would have read so many books if that piano teacher hadn't insisted I research the composers and inspired me to love the library as well as appreciate music. I took piano lessons for 11 years. I've read a lifetime.


 I never composed a symphony or became rich and famous but I did live life long and curious enough to inspire me to write about it. Prodigy I was not. Inspired to live life to the fullest I was. I will go to the grave thankful I was bestowed an inquiring mind, a healthy body, and a free spirit. I've been accused of being honest to a *&!%^ fault and I never could much rein in that part of my nature. I write and tell it as I lived it.
I have few regrets because I am blessed with bright and 
successful children who raised loving and creative grandchildren.

9 comments:

DMS said...

Wonderful post! I believe that reading does keep us young! We learn and grow as we read and see the possibilities out there in the world. I am always amazed when I read a biography or memoir and learn about someone- because they are never who I think they are before I start reading. :) How wonderful that your piano teacher inspired your love of non-fiction.

Happy reading!
~Jess

Anna Maria said...

Thanks Jess! True about folks never quite being who you thought they were. That piano teacher at first thought I would become a concert pianist and I was willing, until I reached junior high and discovered I liked popular music more than classical and my fingers were never going to grow long enough to fulfill her dreams for me. I am grateful she did inspire my love of research and reading. :)

Jon said...

Awesome, Anna.

Like you, I've always been fascinated in biographies; in the case of presidents, I also enjoyed the 'palace intrigue', the way personalities sometimes conflicted.

Jill Paterson said...

Great post Anna, and so true. Reading is such a wonderful pastime too. I think of my mother, Emily, who at 99.9 years, reads every day. What would she do without it?

Anna Maria said...

Thanks Jon! Irving Stones book, "The President's Lady," adapted into a hit movie, was quite interesting revealing how Andrew Jackson's opponents chastised he and his wife. Dirty politics is nothing new.:)

Thanks Jill! I so admire your Mom, I'm sure her continued interest in art and literature is why she is such a young 99.

oneperson said...

You rock Anna!

In "Foxy Confessions" when I read about the one guy who said you were too honest (I can't recall the exact words)...I thought of when someone stated to me, "I can't tell you things because you can't lie."

Well, I can and have lied...so they were wrong. But the statement stunned me and I felt guilty for being honest.

I'd make a rotten CIA agent...thus I will never be one. ;D

I didn't read much while growing up. When I did read, it was mainly about animals. I enjoyed when authors would personify what it might be like to be a certain animal. To me, that was non-fiction.

Since I began indulging in books (starting in my 20s and much more in my 40s)...I too have mainly read non-fiction. I seem to get bored with fiction...unless it is a children's book like "Wheel on the School."

Great blog post! I'm going to Tweet it now. ;)
<3
~Carol

Anna Maria said...

Thanks much Carol! The exact quote was, "Anna...your biggest problem is...you are honest to a godam fault!"

I've lived long enough to know that it probably wasn't my biggest problem but the trait certainly caused a few..especially after I emphasized it in the memoir.I know for certain it was Daddy's fault, he never lied I know of and he didn't tolerate it but I don't regret it. Honesty did add a lot of sprinkles on top the frosting on my cakes. :)

Unknown said...

Loved this post. I could never stop reading - ever. Like you, I read so many different types, but personalities have long fascinated me.

Anna Maria said...

Thanks for visiting Donna!. Yes, personalities are fascinating to observe and read about.