There aren't many people who can hold a candle to Dorothy Dale Kloss, the oldest showgirl in the world. (But my aunt is still tap dancing in her 80s!)

It's a lot of fun to research her name on the Internet, then see her in various videos and listen to the audio of her on a radio show.

Talk about inspiration!

Think about what it takes to rehearse for 8 hour stretches, pun intended.

She has beauty, verve and humor, not to mention grace, stamina and ability.
I wanna be her when I grow up. But to do that, first I'll have to begin to take tap lessons (never took them, but took ballet and jazz.) Book Girl has a good start as she is taking up tap again.

What to do with her life
She wondered what she would do with her life when her son and his family moved cross country. She had been a professional dancer from the time she was 15 and even taught Bob Fosse when he was a boy. Imagine that! One of her students suggested she audition for the Follies in Palm Springs.

She won her spot when she was 71 (all them are 55 or older.)

And she has a 63 year old boyfriend. How about that!

Don't you just love to hear of people who are still active and vital! I sure do.

And how come I didn't know this was there when I was visiting Palm Springs! Now that I'm not visiting Palm Springs, I hear about the show! Where's the justice in that!

But here's the thing
When I grow up, I wanna be a little bit crazy; a little bit wild; a little bit zany, and whole lotta me. I want to be more me than the me I was and the me I am. LOL! And why not, when to get there, we only need to plan for it today.

I hope you put some fun in your life today! Amen to that!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2009-12-12 07:32:39.

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In the presence of good

Nicholas Winton, now 100 years old, was a 29 year old London stockbroker who traveled to Czechoslovakia in 1938, where he rescued hundreds of Jewish children from likely or certain death. Winton's parents were of German Jewish descent.

Even his wife didn't know about it until 40 years after they were married, he remarked in 1999.

Everything that happened before the war actually didn't feel important in the light of the war itself.

Winton, alarmed at the time -- and rightly -- that Czechoslovakia would be invaded by the Nazis and Jewish residents sent to concentration camps, persuaded British officials to accept the children as long as foster homes were found and a 50 pound guarantee was paid for each child. He set about raising funds and organizing passage.

Eight trains carried the children to Britain in the months before the war. A few went to Sweden. Many never saw their parents again, because of the Holocaust.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the rescue, a vintage train carrying about two dozen survivors and their families pulled into London's Liverpool Street Station this past Friday after three days journey by rail and ferry from Prague. They greeted Nicholas, frail though he was.

It's wonderful to see you all after 70 years. Don't leave it quite so long until we meet here again. Nicholas Winton

I never heard about him until today when the story of the kindertransports was retold in our paper.

It's quite remarkable that someone in the heat of confusing times would be led to act decisively in a timely fashion without regard to himself to save others and give them life. It looks easy in retrospect, but I bet we don't know the half of it or the persuading that needed to take place. And I don't suppose that 50 pounds each was a small sum in those days, not to mention the cost of passage.

To me, he is a righteous man. The world would have been poorer without him. He's another man I'd like to know. I was glad he lived long enough to be recognized for his part. And not to forget the part of all those who aided in giving funds, some of whom might have been their own families. May their memories be for a blessing.

Had you heard of him before?

Don't be content in your life just to do no wrong; Be prepared every day to try and do some good. Sir Nicholas Winton

Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don't steal my posts -- you know who you are!

Originally posted 2009-09-05 11:23:59.

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Scout lost one leg, but she competes in triathlon events.

Scout tells the story of never leaving her orphanage, never seeing the outdoors, for 7 years. When I adopted our oldest Chinese daughter, it was clear she had never been outside either. She was about 13 mos old at the time of her adoption.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-07-09 00:15:35.

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Lauren Luke aka panacea81 on youtube is an Internet phenomenon.

Who is she?
Somehow I came across her videos months ago. She has gone from a gawky young woman with a beautiful spirit, to a more polished young woman, traveling the world on the strength of her number of views on youtube, which is based on her ability to do makeup beautifully, usually using her own face.

She seems like a genuinely nice person whose joy and excitement are infectious. I'm glad I've been following her journey. Her humility shines through. It couldn't happen to a more deserving person. She fell into her niche more than nicely!

Her background
Because she was not a conventional beauty, she was teased in school -- bullied really, called 'fat' and 'ugly.' She has since had her teeth redone, and her videos explaining how that came about and the process make you root for her.

You go, Lauren!

She wants everyone to feel their own beauty and not be limited by others.

You just want to hit everyone up the side of the head who mistreated her. She has earned her place in the sun by following her dreams. Too bad they didn't realize her talent! It's a lesson to learn when we are in the microcosm of school. Where will those who teased her end up? And that she has not let the bullying stop her innate talent and intelligence is a tribute to the human spirit.

How did she begin?
She began by filming in her bedroom in South Shields near Newcastle, in the UK, and she has attracted a staggering 36 million [and counting...] hits on YouTube with more than 288,000 subscribers.

She has been the makeup artist featured for Barry M cosmetics, which we cannot get in the USA, unfortunately. I'd like all that glitter!

What's her style?
She talks to you like a friend with no pretense. And her accent is adorable, though it is not educated sounding. You can speed through her videos to watch her techniques or listen to her patter.

She inspires trust.

Her eye makeup is exceptional, no matter what colors or brands she uses.

She now has a book:

You can see her talking a bit about herself and her latest projects here:

Her makeup line
She launched her makeup line not too long ago. Her videos have talked a bit about traveling to NY during the formulating of it. More about her palettes here.

Pick one of her videos here to see how beautifully she does eyes.

What do you think?
Have you heard of her? Do you follow her? Have you tried any of her colors? Which is your fave?

You can see my applications here:
My Smokey Classics
LOTD My Smokey Classics
My Smokey Classics -- Dramatic Look

My Sultry Blues Look 1
Look 2
Look 3
LOTD
My Fierce Violets
General information about her palettes can be found here.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

LAUREN LUKE - MY LUSCIOUS GREENS - PALETTE FOR EYES/CHEEK/LIPS - NEW BOXED

US $22.95

5d 23m

Originally posted 2009-10-16 12:08:15.

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Recently I had the privilege to hear renowned pianist Brooks Aehron. If you ever get a chance to see him, you will have a good time, whether you like piano music particularly or not. He is quite a showman. He makes music fun!

One thing he asked the audience at one of his three concerts was: what is a pianist's greatest fear? His answer was not forgetting the music, but the loss of a hand. Then he played an entire piece using just his left hand. You can imagine how difficult that is, especially if you are right handed.

This story of Hee Ah Lee takes it even farther. Born with serious birth defects, she has mastered piano with the use of only 4 fingers, some of which do not function as normal fingers. It makes many difficulties most of us might face seem very small in comparison.

It moved me to tears. I was also moved that her mother resisted family pressure to abandon her to adoption to Canada or the West. To her mother, Hee Ah Lee has always been beautiful and perfect.

She has given more than 200 concerts and loves to perform. If you watch the second video to the very end, you can see that she knows how to interact with the audience.

Here's a short piece played by her:

And a longer story:

You can find other videos featuring her also.

The lesson here, to me, is find a way. If something seems impossible, yet our talents are leading us to do it, find a way.

There is a unique way for each of us to accomplish most anything, if we truly desire it, work toward it, and have our own vision that we keep in sight. It also helps to surround ourselves with others who will help forward our vision or even lead us to it. Eliminate naysayers! Work towards the end we are trying to achieve.

The world needs our music, whether we are playing music or living the music of our lives. Each of us is needed.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2010-03-05 09:29:18.

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This was shared at another group I'm on, and I thought it was inspirational!

Hazel McCallion has been mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, for 11 terms with a 92% approval rating. She is hard to keep up with! What a gal! It is the 6th largest city in the country.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-10 21:53:07.

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