THE LEGACY

The gifts that I cherish above all others are the legacies of moral integrity left behind by my ancestors. They did not leave a dowery of financial wealth, rather they left something far more valuable than that of earthly possessions.

Their examples of personal integrity, along with their willingness to sustain each other through their hardships, has been a strength to me my entire life. Their commitment toward excellence has reinforced my desire to endure and has given me the strength to withstand unbearable pressures, especially during difficult times.

Eva, my grandmother was widowed when she was a young mother and struggled to raise five children alone.  She worked full time to provide for her children and didn't retire until she was in her seventies. I remember watching her walk to and from work every day, through sun, rain, sleet, hail and snow. I never heard her complain about the trials in life, nor did she place blame for her heavy burdens. My grandmother held her head high and walked the strait and narrow all the days of her life.

She didn't work in an air conditioned office with insurance benefits or holiday pay, nor did she take a dime from the government. She didn't believe the government owed her a living and she certainly didn't have any expectations of getting something for nothing.  Her work ethics proceeded her and she proved a level of dignity that was beyond reproach. 

She never traveled the world, wore designer clothing or even owned a car. Yet, from her simple beginnings and throughout her life, I gained a tremendous sense of respect and self worth through her example. She taught me that the impossible was indeed possible, with a little elbow grease and a lot of determination.  

Eva made her own laundry soap, washed her clothes in an old wringer washer and hung them on the clothes lines to dry. She cooked everything from scratch, canned hundreds of bottles of fruits, juices, meats and vegetables. She learned to sew with perfection and crocheted beautifully. Each year she planted a large garden and always had a few chickens running around the yard. I remember watching her catch a chicken to prepare for Sunday dinner; a sight that is still fresh in my mind! She plucked every feather out by hand and her fried chicken tasted chicken lick'en good long before Cornell Sanders came into the picture. 

Times were extremely tough for our ancestors. Their sacrifices made our lives easier and perhaps to a certain downfall. When things are made too easy, it eliminates the desire to succeed. I pray that I can be an example to my posterity as my grandmother has been to me.  

My grandchildren deserve to experience the challenges of defeat. I want them to run a hard race, only to realize that someone else is better, faster and stronger! Defeat creates an insatiable desire to excel, along with the knowledge and humility that winning isn't everything.  

I don't want them to expect anything, rather they deserve to earn everything!  When they get their first job, I would like them to remember, "There are a hundred qualified people waiting to take their place" and to work hard to give an honest day.  Giving their very best is enough, but having a desire to do better is the ultimate goal.

May they refuse to believe that their country owes them a living, rather they believe that they owe a life of service and gratitude to their country. May they clearly understand the laws of compensation by:  working hard, playing less, giving more, loving endlessly, forgiving unconditionally and living to their fullest potential, with the desire to magnify the reason for their creation.

They are encouraged to: dance in the rain, sing in the shower, laugh out loud, cry when it hurts, trust the truth, pray with a passion, believe in miracles, live with enthusiasm, love without guile, be humbly honest, connect by caring, promote peace, reach out to others, have a purpose, develop genuine gratitude, silence the storms, keep their innocence and choose to assist in creating a world with endless possibilities. By Linda Sumner Urza, One fine day.











Three of her children, William, Claudine (my mother) and Dora.

CREATING A SAFE PASSAGE

I have noticed in a world of chaos, there are some people who have the strength to remain solid, regardless of the endless challenges. Trials strike repeatedly, but they endure the buffetings as though the tribulations have no power against them. I truly admire those who have the strength and character to stand firm amidst the turmoils of life, and their great example emulates enough light to leads others to safety.  

One of my favorite stories illustrates the strength and power of knowing ones direction, and being grounded in that purpose. Its a story about a career naval officer who finally got his four stripes, became a captain, and then was given command of a giant battleship.

While on maneuvers in the Atlantic, during the dead of the night, the officer of the deck was cautiously piloting the warship through fog-shrouded waters. With straining eyes he scanned the hazy darkness, searching for dangers lurking just out of sight, when his worst fears were realized. There in front of them was a bright light straight ahead and on a collision course with the ship.

The sleeping captain was immediately summoned from his quarters to the bridge and told about a signal light in the distance. To avert disaster he quickly told the signalman, “Signal them to bear ten degrees starboard.” To the captain’s amazement however, the foggy image did not move, but instead, sent back a signal saying, “Bear ten degrees starboard.”

Appalled at the audacity of the message, the indignant captain, insulted by the blatant refusal to respect his rank as a commander of a battleship, the biggest thing afloat, and the pride of the fleet said, “Signal that light again and tell them that this Captain orders them to bear ten degrees starboard now.”

A second time the oncoming light did not budge. “With all due respect, Captain,” came the signal again, “I am a Seaman First Class and I order you to alter your course immediately ten degrees starboard!”

Angered and frustrated that this impudent sailor would endanger the lives of his men and crew, the captain signaled back, “Seaman, I can have you court-martialed for this! For the last time, I command you on the authority of the United States government to alter your course ten degrees starboard! I am a battleship!”

The seaman’s final transmission was chilling: “Captain, sir. Once again with all due respect, I command you to alter your course ten degrees starboard! I am a lighthouse!” 

In the ignorance of darkness, the battleship had challenged the very authority that had the power to preserve the lives aboard the ship. The battleship immediately moved! There are many who stand as lighthouses in a dark world. 

Their light continually guides others to safety, even during the most difficult storms. These individuals face life with the strength to create a safe passage for others to follow. Linda Sumner Urza, One fine day.

A MAN OF LIBERTY, A MAN OF JUSTICE

Thomas Jefferson began studying with a tutor at the age of five. By age nine he had mastered three languages, Latin,Greek and French. At age fourteen he was studying additional languages and literature. By the age of sixteen he had entered into college. He studied law for five years and by age twenty-three he owned his own law practice. When he was twenty-five he was elected into the Virginia House of Burgesses. By age thirty-one, he retired from law and wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America." He was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress when he was thirty-two. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence when only thirty-three years old, then took three years to revise Virginia's legal code, wrote the Public Education bill, and a Statute for Religious Freedom. At age thirty-six he was elected the second governor of Virginia. When he was forty he served two years in Congress. He was forty-one when be became the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. When he was forty-six he served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington. At fifty-three he was vice president of our country and also elected president of the American Philosophical Society. He drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of the Republic party at fifty-five and by fifty-seven he was elected the third president of the United States of America. At age sixty Jefferson obtained the Louisiana Purchase and doubled the nation's size. He was elected to a second term as president when he was sixty-one.  He retired for a time at age sixty-five to Monticello. By age eighty he assisted President Monroe in shaping the Monroe Doctrine and at eighty-one he created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.  At eighty-three he died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

President John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white house for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time.  President Kennedy made this statement, "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever gathered at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

Quotes from a brilliant leader: Thomas Jefferson

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe." 

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

"When the people fear the government, there is tyranny' when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

"Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world." 

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." 

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." 

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." 

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." 

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."  

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." 

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies; and the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." 

"Thomas Jefferson desired to build from the people up! This extra ordinary man lived in ordinary times, yet he shaped our county with his brilliant mind and high ideals. Today our country is being threatened by a government that has become the very "beast" that our forefathers fled. We must elect leaders who will reestablish the principles this nations was founded upon. If not, we will watch a great nation be swallowed up in the quagmire of rampant government. If we don't reclaim our integrity, the words freedom and liberty will only exist in the history books. We deserve to have conservative, moral, and ethical values leading the future of this country!" 

By, Linda Sumner Urza, One fine day.