Queen Victoria's Wedding Bonnet

Imagine my delight when I discovered a framed photo of Queen Victoria's wedding bonnet in a box of old photos rescued from my mother's house.

Front Side

Reverse Side

It might have been Cyrinthia's (G.W. Clayton's wife) but more than likely it had been her mother's, Mollie Laughead Jones, born in 1856.

Queen Victoria was born May 24, 1819 and died January 22, 1901. She ruled Great Britain for 63 years (the second longest than any other British monarch and second longest female monarch in history (Queen Elizabeth II is currently the longest serving monarch to date).

The "Victorian era" of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign (1837 to 1901). Late Victorian attitudes focused on highly morale behavior and straitlaced language.  During the Victorian era the population of England and Wales doubled, however Ireland's population decreased significantly due to the Great Famine. At the same time about 15 million emigrants left the United Kingdom from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Adapt and Evolve

'In life we cannot avoid change. We cannot avoid loss. Freedom and happiness are found in the flexibility and ease with which we move through change.'

-Buddha

I recently received a letter from an old coolege friend. He wrote of the devastating heartache he felt after divorce and the the untimely death of his second wife. He was pulled out of the depths of depression by a colleague who told him to choose life or death. He chose life and began to exercise, hike and cycle.

Grover Clayton wrote of his despair after Cyrthia died. I believe Lucy and Jean gave him hope and helped him survive and be open to change and a new unexpected love.

The happiest 96 year-old is my former neighbor, Jane, who continues to adapt and thrive and be optimistic even after the death of her spouse, a cross-country move and several health issues.

Evolution comes from adaptation, so adapt and evolve. Recreate yourself if you need to!

"Autumn Stillness" from Moth at the Window

Working on a New Manuscript

I am working on a new manuscript.

It will be based on letters written to my mother in the early 1940's while she was in graduate school.

Poem "Autumn Stillness" by G.W. Clayton - circa 1939