Thursday XIII:13 Uplifting Thomas Jefferson Quotes

Uplifting Thomas Jefferson Quotes

1. When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
2. But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
3. I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.
4. I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
5. There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.
6. There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.
7. It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.
8. I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
9. Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.
11. We never repent of having eaten too little.
12. Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast.
13. Truth is certainly a branch of morality and a very important one to society.

Whatever Wednesdays : Christina Meets Thomas Jefferson

"Whatever!"

It's the teenagers', "I don't really care", or, "I don't have any control over the situation, so you're going to do what you want, anyway, right?". So totally apathetic.

It's hard to reach many of these teenagers so I have made particular efforts with my Educational Travel Programs to engage students by adding hands-on activities and first person experiences which include musicians, historic reenactors/interpreters, and a supper with an historic person.

Two years ago, a school from Alaska, that I had been associated with for a number of years, had a clique of four 'whatever' girls within the larger group. Nothing seemed to affect or interest them until we had our intimate, Dinner with a Patriot, with Thomas Jefferson as our guest of honor.

Now the gentleman who portrays Mr. Jefferson (as Burgess, Governor of Virginia, or President) is a friend of mine. He is in great demand in Williamsburg, historic sites around the world, and conventions etc.; but he will make himself available, if possible, for my supper program.

He is both personally and professionally, charming, gracious, knowledgeable, and witty.

During the after dinner presentation and subsequent Q&A, it became evident by her uncharacteristic participation and demeanor, Christina was mesmerized.

Our next day was spent in Richmond at St. John's Episcopal Church's Patrick Henry reenactment and then on to Pamplin Historical Park (this was before they had the overnight) and ending at our hotel in Charlottesville.

We were the first group to arrive at Monticello; it was particularly romantic in the morning fog and dew. After visiting the home, dependencies, grounds, and gift shop, we departed for our last stop, Thomas Jefferson's grave, before walking (running) down the hill to our bus.

I gave a short speech about his monument, his epitaph, the differences in calendars, and some of the members of the Jefferson family in the cemetery. The group then disappeared down the winding trail, but Christina stood, transfixed, in front of the large iron fence that surrounded the cemetery and separated her from the grave.

She was weeping.

I called to her, but she wouldn't budge.

I approached her and asked if everything was, OK.

She looked at me, tears streaming down her cheeks and uttered, " It's so sad to see his grave; he was so nice!".

I suppose I could have taken her to task that she couldn't separate the actor from the man who had been dead 178 years, but I thought that it would have been insensitive at that moment. It was probably the first time she had been touched by history and I wanted to encourage her to learn more about him and understand why others who had truly known him had wept, too.

Her attitude completely changed after that incident and she convinced her friends to get involved with the various activities at Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, and an Underground Railroad program.

The Principal of the school contacted me a couple of months later to tell me that Christina had completed an extra credit report which included a Power Point presentation on Jefferson.

It was quite good.

The Educational Tour Marm