C. S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis is like the coolest author ever. I mean, he's not someone you'd pick for some entertaining and light reading; everything he writes, in my opinion, is pure gold. He has a lot of wisdom, and he's the most quoted author by general authorites in my church, as far as I know. I loved reading "The Screwtape Letters" and am working on "Mere Christianity" right now.
Carol Burnett
Carol is a genius when it comes to comedy. She knows how to make comedy clean and fun, warm and creative. I loved staying up at night and watching her sitcom. I still think about how every show she would let audience members ask her questions, live, and she was hilarious! And in case you don't know, whenever she subtly tugs her ear when she looks at the camera, she is telling her grandma, "I love you." I wish I could have every recording of every skit she's done!
Jimmy Stewart
He's the all-American hero to me. He lived a decent life despite his popularity. When his career was really taking off, he voluntarily enrolled in the Air Force during WWII. He went on a tour, insisting he not be given special privileges. He came back and enlisted himself in the Reserve ever since. He was married to the same woman his whole life, had kids, was the all-around family man. He never had any scandals. He viewed his career as a profession, one to work at diligently to bring home the bacon. Besides that, he was an amazing actor for his time. My favorite movie of him would probably be "Harvey," where he has an imaginary friend that's a 7' rabbit, or "Mr. Krueger's Christmas," his last hurray before he died. He wasn't mormon but loved the church and Mormon Tabernacle Choir. When he died, he left his letters to BYU, or was it Utah State? Anyway, he was a great guy through & through.
Audrey Hepburn
She's just the all-around essence of grace, poise, and femininity. Plus she was married to the same great guy, stayed home a lot to be there for her kids, and was involved in humanitarian efforts. And she's probably the most beautiful person I will ever know, it almost hurts.
Benjamin Franklin
This guy was such a great example of the Renaissance Man! He was so incredibly smart and wore so many hats in life. He used his intelligence to contribute monumentally to society. His studies in science, his inventions, his jobs as fireman, in writing, printing, politics, there's so much he did! The more I learn, the more I want to emulate (except for the whole infidelity thing). For example, he used to go to bed holding a rock over the edge of the bed. When he was finally nodding off, his hand would let go of the rock and drop noisily into a bucket. This would wake him up, and he'd discover his best ideas (which happen between consciousness & non-consciousness). My grandmother did the same thing, well, more like she always kept a notepad & pen under her pillow. I do the same thing, too, well, in the nightstand, but need to work on the skill of writing in the dark. If you want to know what I'd like for a present someday, it's one of those flashlight-pen thingies!
Neal A. Maxwell
He was an Apostle of the LDS Church until he died, last year? I'm in love with his writing. I don't know any other more eloquent writer, someone who so poignantly covers the whole idea of a concept, to the very core. I know I need to find out more about his life, but what I do know is that he led a great life with far-reaching beneficial example. He took his many years of struggling with pain and disease and made it all about giving to others what he had of himself while he could. wow...
Friedl Dicker-Brandeis
Friedl was an artist who was taken to the "model ghetto" in Terazin during WWII. Her job was to lecture and teach art, but she also smuggled supplies in to teach the children art, too. These were shell-shocked children who had been ripped from their families, some of whom watched their parents be killed. And she gave them hope through expression. She managed to get the 4,500 drawings out so they could be preserved before she willingly went to Auschwitz to join her husband. She died there. Her paintings aren't that amazing, but what inspires me was her goal to work with these children "to rouse the desire towards creative work."
Laura Schlessinger
Her whole philosophy is that doing what is right will give you purpose, direction, happiness, fulfillment, and consequently, sanity. She's not into psycho-babble, as she calls it. I enjoy how she speaks openly and frankly so she can reach people's problems. And her number one priority in helping people who ask her about their problems, is what is best for the children. There's nothing more important to her. I don't profess that everyone should go around making calls on everybody's business, since she only gives responses to those that ask her and even then when they're willing to listen, but what advice she does give is wisdom that is based on principles, not culture or passing agendas.
She gets a lot of flack for actually saying something is wrong or evil, but who said standing up for the right things would win them a popularity contest? I've never known someone to work so hard to reach someone, simply because she cares enough to help them be happy and make the right choice. The things I disagree with her on are few & far between. She always ends her radio program (which I streamlinked until just recently) with: "Now go do the right thing." In her I've found a great mother figure, someone to fill in the gaps and help me unlearn some things. I try to be more like her than any other woman I know.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
He's just full of so many quotes to remember, I wish I could just download them all to my brain!
Parley P. Pratt
He has a great conversion story to his faith, my faith (LDS). He worked hard all his life and was so passionate in what he believed in. It's commendable.
Sergei Rachmaninov
Finding a musician to meet was the hardest category for me. Knowing composers, many of them were not so admirable. Like Wagner, who was anti-semetic. Or Beethoven, whose music I love the most but know would be much too abrasive to hang out with. Scriabin might be intriguing (another Russian composer), because he claimed to see music in his head in color! Rachmaninoff I'd like to meet simply because his music is precious to me, but I don't know enough about him to tell if he would be enjoyable or not.
and an Aboriginee
What, who wouldn't want to meet someone from a culture that can sense thoughts from others in the tribe from incredible distances, like a hundred miles? So I've heard; maybe I'm just gullible. But it's intriguing and I'd like to learn more about them and how they survived in the outback for so long. Plus they have a totally different appearance from any other race, plus they've got the dijeridoo, and the whole standing on one leg thing. They're just cool!
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