In Memoriam... Here's to you, Miep Gies ~

"From the left to the right: Paul Gies, Fritzie Frank-Markovits, Jan Gies, Miep Gies and Otto Frank. Basel, 1971" (Click on pictures for source)

Yes, Miep Gies, the wonderful woman that helped the Frank family "survive" up until they were discovered in 1944... by bringing food, supplies, magazines, etc... has passed away today.

She was 100 years old.

Absolutely remarkable.

It is truly a blessing to live long and have blessed others in your life.

Survived by her son and three grandsons, all I can think of is: What a legacy.

Thank you, Miep, for having served as a kind reminder to humanity of what is important: To love each other as one loves thyself... and actually live and show that "brotherly" love, agape love.

May God bless your descendants, legacy, and of course, the sweet, kind memory of you!

With tears of gratitude, a girl that says thank you for helping Anne Frank and her family, and showing that unconditional, true love... thank you, God, for Miep. May she rejoice in your presence. :) Amen.

With all due respect and admiration, sincerely yours,
Carranza

(Reminder: I'm a 28-year old woman and now teacher, touched by Anne Frank's diary and the events of the Holocaust in 8th grade, spring semester, age 13).

Moment of Luxury - Part 2

Sooo, it's been almost two weeks since my last post... and I've been wanting to take pictures of our new teacher's lounge and "broadcast" them to the world... With no further ado, I present to you the work of our MDPC volunteers, including Mr. Bill Stubbs from "A Moment of Luxury" (PBS), and "Matress Mack" from Gallery Furniture. Sorry I took forever! You'll know why on my next post.







Last two.
What do you think? :)

~ Moment of Luxury ~

Yes, today I met Bill Stubbs from PBS' Moment of Luxury!!!! :) Aw, that's as close as I can get to elegance and a moment of luxury. Great, humble, creative, and classy - simply him. I would describe him as conservative yet contemporary and with gusto. What you see on TV is what you get - and more - when you meet him in person. Pepe Pena from Que Pasa USA? would most likely describe him as

"...fino y educado..."

Thanks to good friends at work, I got the courage to say hello and ask this good man for his autograph and yes, a picture with me!! I was a nervous wreck... but he was kind and awesome, and totally was up for it. No, I'm not quitting my job as a teacher and interviewing for an interior design position... Although if you know of a paid internship asking for people with no experience and zero training, then let me know and I'll be there!!!! :)

Here's the story, check this out:

My school had a teacher's lounge that was in bad shape. When an 18-year, veteran teacher is telling you that the place had been like that since then, you know it's messed up. So, to make a long story short, some wonderful, caring volunteers from Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, donated their time, effort, and skills. Cause? Us. Saving Poor Teachers.

Bill Stubbs was one of them. He was in charge of the design and of getting our new furniture that was donated by the awesome, Jim McIngvale, better known as "Matress Mack" from Gallery Furniture in Houston. To say the least, all of us that work at the school were shocked. I was deeply touched and moved by such generosity... To see that someone... someone out there (more like a couple hundred people, we were told), thought of us... and value the work we do as teachers every day, just makes you feel good. We don't have a PTA, we don't have parent volunteers either, and no - people are not jumping and fighting to come to our school and help out. What is that???? We hold no knowledge of that. That's why THIS is significant.

My words don't do honor to what these kind and talented people did for our school... But I will try to take pictures and post them here so you can take a look and judge for yourself. Unfortunately, there won't be any "before" pictures, but just take my word for it! I didn't even eat lunch there!!!

Thank you, Gallery Furniture and MDPC Volunteers, for giving of yourself and sharing it with us. "...And you will know them by their fruits..."

Today in History: August 13, 1965
Celebrating my first, "Today in History" moment, I want to send a SHOUT-OUT to my dad!!! For celebrating his 44th year in this great and beautiful country we call America. Congratulations, dad. Thanks for coming over, working hard, and doing things responsibly since August 13, 1965, and instilling in us principles, values, and a strong work ethic. Dicen que te ha ido bien... :)