Mary Moody Emerson was an original. The eccentric aunt of Ralph Waldo Emerson, she had a great influence on the man often considered to be the greatest thinker of his time. Never married, Aunt Mary stepped in to care for her brother William’s children after he died. She set high intellectual standards for them and demanded original thinking, always encouraging them to do what … [Read more...]

An inspirational tale for the “ring of fire” solar eclipse! Composite image by April Elliott Kent. One cold day in 1936 a stray tabby cat crept inside St. Augustine’s Cathedral in London, seeking food and warmth. Several times she was cast out. But eventually she prevailed, and went on to win hearts as the beloved church cat. Called Faith for her determination, she sat in … [Read more...]

When staff at the Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility in Bellaire, MI arrived one recent July morning, they were astonished to find a dog curled up on the couch in the waiting room. Miraculously, Scout had escaped the night before from a nearby animal shelter, managed to scale the 10-foot chain link fence and another 6-foot solid privacy fence, cross a busy highway without being … [Read more...]

Oakland-based Yeye Luisah Teish is a Yoruba priestess and a daughter of Oshun, the African Venus. When I first met Teish in the mid-80s at the Council of Feminine Fire in Ojai, California, she blew me away. As a newcomer to the ways of the Goddess, I’d never experienced a woman who was so in her power – not to mention her body! I soon devoured her autobiography, Jambalayah, and … [Read more...]

Once upon a time in the 1830s, a young Englishman named Joseph and a young French woman named Elizabeth fell madly in love. But Elizabeth’s wealthy father, who was Joseph’s employer, refused to let them marry – and disowned his daughter when she eloped. So, the newlyweds took a brave step: They left France and hopped on a ship to the New World. After landing in Mississippi, … [Read more...]