Sunday, September 25, 2011

Are you flying high?

I remember chastising my daughter when she became a teenager and she wanted Gloria Vanderbilt plastered across her back pocket. "You are buying a label, doing free advertising, and making that woman famous and richer. What has she done for you?"

"Mom, I am not wearing Garanimals mix and match; I want Gloria Vanderbilts."

I lost control. Feathered hair, funky fads and fun friends whose moms "let them do anything they wanted" won her over. I wasn't that mom! But I did buy her GVs for Christmas.

Last week I watched Gloria Vanderbilt, who is 87 years old, on her son's daytime talk show. Anderson Cooper is on Ch. 30 at 4:00 p.m. in St. Louis.

I've decided I like the classy old gal. I especially like a quote that Anderson attributed to his mother.

"We are not put on this earth to see through one another. We are put on this earth to see one another through." ~ Gloria Vanderbilt

I read Anderson Cooper's memoir, Dispatches from The Edge, and was astounded by his determination. He so wanted to be a reporter that he had a friend make up a fake press badge and he borrowed a video camera, hopped on a plane and went out to cover the war and news. His life story is amazing. His mother married her soul mate, his dad who was from Arkansas.

Imagine Anderson as a young man jetting all around the world with the guts to live his dream, not waiting for it to happen, but making it happen. That takes courage.

I imagine we have all had an experience or two on a plane that we could share. Here is an ongoing, online anthology call for submission, but it is not a paying venue.


Airplane Reading: Nonfiction about Flight
Airplane Reading (edited by Mark Yakich & Christopher Schaberg of Loyola University New Orleans) is an online, ongoing anthology dedicated to people's ordinary and extraordinary stories of air travel. The site features creative nonfiction, anecdotes, and observations about everyday experiences and misadventures of modern flight. Now accepting submissions at airplanereading.org

10 comments:

Patti said...

That is a great quote. Wouldn't it be a different world if we all lived that way.

I have a couple bad experiences of air travel...one in which, 20 minutes after takeoff, the plane I was on had to return to the airport because one of its engines had been lost. Another time, due to a rain delay in one city, I missed my Atlanta connection...had to spend the night there in a less-than-lovely hotel...with 2 little toddlers...and no suitcase.

Blessings to you,
Patti

Linda O'Connell said...

Oh Patti, that all sounds frightening.

Unknown said...

Patti's trip sounds awful. I also love GV's quote. She does sound like a classy lady. At least your daughter didn't want those pants with all the cut outs up and down them.

Bookie said...

These are interesting people, both mother and son!

Cathy C. Hall said...

I feel the same way about clothes with brand names on them...I'm not sure why they don't pay US to wear them.

(And I like that quote, too. Plus, Anderson's kinda cute. ;-)

Debora said...

I wasn't aware that Gloria was Anderson's mom. I like that quote! On my first airplane flight we were laying over in SLC. Just as the wheels were about to touch the ground, the plane accelerated and went back up, almost straight up! Seems there was another plane on the runway and he had to pull up to miss it. Fortunately, I didn't know this was unusual, as it was my first flight!

Donna Volkenannt said...

Hi Linda,
I caught part of the interview. GV is one gutsy lady. I was sad to hear about the death of her son, Anderson's brother. It took courage for both of them to live through the pain.
And thanks for the market tip.
Donna

Susan said...

Hi Linda...Hope your weekend was good. Enjoyed your post. Always do. Susan

Kim Lehnhoff said...

Delays and lost luggage, a cat who stunk up the entire plane by using the cat box as a litter box...just some of the fun I've had with air travel.

I even rode in a car with strangers so I could get to my hotel in preparation for a job interview...and I sort of went into a restricted area of a small airport to retrieve my suitcase, so I'd have clothes to wear for the interview.

Got the job.

Southhamsdarling said...

Love that Gloria Vanderbilt quotation. Might just borrow that one to use one day! Mother and son sound really interesting and how amazing for the son to just go out and make life happen for him.