The Human Spirit

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."

~ Helen Keller

We are in a town along the Tennessee River called Florence Alabama. The river has dipped into Alabama and will curve northward back into Tennessee east of here near Chattanooga. There's a lot to see in Florence, so we hopped into the marina's courtesy van with map in hand to do a little exploring.

We found the Rosenbaum House; the only home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the entire state. It has been called the purest form of Wright's Usonian design ever built. He also designed much of the interior furnishings. I love the geometrics of his designs and I thought this home in particular was stunning, but I was surprised that it didn't have a view of the river.

We also located the birthplace of W.C Handy, the 'Father of the Blues'...Today, the simple log cabin is a museum and has a large collection of his memorabilia including his piano. As a boy, they say, he used the notes of the bird's songs to create tunes. I was smitten with the metal art sculpture in the yard depicting a blues quartet.

Perhaps one of the most inspiring visits to a home or museum that we've had along the trip was our tour today of the home where America's First Lady of Courage was born. Located on a beautifully landscaped and tree-filled 640 acre tract of land in Tuscumbia, right over the river from Florence, sits Ivy Green, the home where Helen Keller lived. Having survived the Civil War, the home is perfectly maintained right down to the tiniest details including some of her childhood toys and dresses on display. The most moving experience of our visit was to actually see the 'the pump' (click on photo inset) where Helen first understood the correlation between letters, words and things. Her recognition, at 7 years of age, that w-a-t-e-r meant something cool and wet flowing over her hand...It is impossible to even begin to imagine what that moment must have felt like. But, from that moment on her learning never faded...within six months she knew over 600 words...by 10 she mastered braille...by 16 she spoke well enough to attend prep school. She went on to graduate cum laude from Radcliffe College. Her teacher, Anne Sullivan, never left her side and became known as 'The Miracle Worker'. Also the name of a play by William Gibson, and later made into a movie which won Academy Awards for both Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft. I suggest everyone, at the very least, see the movie. There are countless books written about Helen Keller. Her life's story is worth reading about, a story of unmeasurable courage...a true testament to the human spirit.

--Once she wrote, "They took away what should have been my eyes, but I remembered Milton's Paradise. They took away what should have been my ears, Beethoven came and wiped away my tears. They took away what should have been my tongue, but I had talked to God when I was young. He would not let them take away my soul---Possessing that, I still posses the whole."

What more can I say?