F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gravesite
St. Mary’s Church
Rockville, MD
June 8, 2016
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre
I really didn’t like to read until I was a senor in high school. That is when I finally, finally began to read
American literature. I was mesmerized by The
Great Gatsby. It was so different from Shakespeare and Canterbury Tales and
Greek Mythology, all reading assignments II didn’t read. But once I began to
read Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Thornton Wilder, and others, I
became a reader. I thought of myself as
a reader. For that reason, I will be
forever grateful to F. Scott Fitzgerald.
There are lots of strangers who influenced my thinking which
enriched my life:
- o Amy Tan- author: I’ve read everything she’s written
- o Andy Rooney- TV Commentator: his take on the world was funny and spot-on
- o Barak Obama- political leader
- o Bill Bryson- author: I like to listen to his books on CDs. They are good stories
- o Bonnie Raitt- musician
- o Carl Rodgers- psychologist
- o Joe Paterno- PSU Football Coach
- o Charles Kurat- TV Commentator
- o Earnest Shackelton- explorer
- o Edward Hopper- artist
- o Pope John Paul II- religious leader
- o Graham Greene-author
- o Jane Goodall- humanitarian
- o JD Salinger- author
- o Jack Kerouac- writer
- o Lech Walesa- political leader
- o Mikhail Gorbachev- political leader: he ended the Cold War at great personal risk
- o Dali Llama- religious leader
- o Pope Francis- religious leader
- o Joan Armatrading- musician
- o Van Morrison- musician
- o John Audubon- birder
- o Vincent Van Gough- painter
- o Norman Rockwell- illustrator
- o Peter Maxx- artist
- o Jimmy Carter- Politician: I admire him much more as an Elder Statesman than as the President
- o Joan Baez- musician
- o John Lewis- congressman and man of courage.
- o John Stewart- comedian: he is smart and clever with his words. I went to see his show in February 2015
- o Joni Mitchell- musician and my all time favorite one at that. I have a physical copy of everything she has released.
- o Mary Cassatt- painter:
- o Mary Gordon- author
- o Abraham Maslow- our hierarchy of needs
- o Meryl Streep- actress
- o Mickey Hart- musician: I never followed him when he played for the Grateful Dead. But he introduced me to world music.
- o Mother Teresa- humanitarian extraordinaire.
- o Nelson Mandela- social activist: his position on forgiveness is admirable.
- o Ravi Shankar- musician: he introduced me to world music.
- o Robert Kennedy- politician: I wonder how different our nation would be if he had been elected president
- o Rosa Parks- social activist: she had courage.
- o Tim Cahill- author- I love Baghdad without a Map.
- o Malcolm Gladwell- author: The Tipping Point changed how I disseminated information.
- o Van Morrison- musician
- o James Galway- musician- I listen to him when I want to calm myself.
- o Barbara Kingsolver’s- author: I haven't read a lot of her work but Poisonwood Bible occupied much of my interest and time.
- o Manet- artist
- o Johnnie Rivers- musician: Summer Rain is on my top ten list of songs.
- o Werzhog- movie director- I've send several of his movies.
- o Wes Anderson’- movie director: I watch everything he releases.
- o William Kennedy- author
- o Yukio Mashima- author: He introduced me to Japanese writers.
