Saturday, April 14, 2012

An Unsinkable Celebration!

On April 15th, 1912, the news across the world was the sinking of the luxury liner The Titanic on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. It was big news...

But in a little town in Alabama, it wasn't the biggest news.  The biggest news of the day was the birth of identical twin daughters to a southern belle affectionately known as Katie Belle.


They were named after their grandmothers, Mary and Anne. 

Here they are again celebrating their 80th birthday. Best friends for more than 95 years, we had hoped that they would celebrate their centennial together.

But only one of them did.  


The one named Mary. 
The one  I call 
The Unsinkable Old Lady


She's the one on the right... 
or maybe it's the left...
 I never could tell them apart. 

You may remember The Unsinkable Old Lady  from previous posts on here. She's been a frequent star of my Simple Pleasures posts.

She's the antique belle who has a standing date
 with Sir Lotsa Hair every Sunday morning. 


And the grand old lady who strolled hand in hand with me 
through my favorite historical home.


And the spunky cowgirl who sat not in the back seat
 but on it in a local parade.
 Of course, she was younger then.
 I think she was 98.


 I cherish my friendship with this woman. 
Aside from my own family members, 
The Unsinkable Old Lady is the person I admire the most in this world. 

I admire her steadfast faith
and the fact that she's the perfect example of a lady.

I admire her incredible  intellect. 
She graduated at the top of her high school class and with honors from college. 
With a degree in chemistry no less...

I admire her because no matter how gifted she was in the classroom, 
she still thought her most important job was staying home to raise her family.

And yes... that was work. 

I admire her for her decades of service to the community. 

Oh, there's so much more, 
but do you want to know my favorite thing about
The Unsinkable Old Lady?

After 100 years,
She still twinkles. 


That's the face with which she greets me every time I see her.

And folks, do you know what happens when you are on the receiving end
of a beautiful antique twinkle?


It makes you want to give a vintage twinkle right back.

So that's exactly what I do.

And suddenly, my whole world seems just a little bit brighter.

All because of an Unsinkable Old Lady.


So Happy 100th Birthday
 to my  favorite antique belle.

And thank you, my friend, for the twinkle.

35 comments:

Chatty Crone said...

Happy Birthday Mary. This is quite a compliment from my friend here. And I can see your twinkle. I might add that your twinkling is one reason you look so good and have lived so long. Keep twinkling for many many birthday. sandie

Barbara F. said...

God bless this Lady, she is an inspiration to all of us. She takes good care of herself. There is a lot to be said for a "Twinkle". Great posr, Debbie. I really enjoyed the post with Sir Lotsa Hair, too. xo

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

What a lovely, lovely antique lady!!! Certainly you must cherish her friendship.

And how marvelous to know an identical twin!!! I am so fascinated by twins, especially identical ones. Would you too, be kind of fascinated by identical twins? And have asked her to tell you, about their amazing connection?

If so, would you please, please, please share with me, what she has told you? Oh would you please?

I've never had the privilege of talking with an identical twin, myself.

Heavens! How could I have rattled on, about what I like??? And not left a HUGE Happy Birthday Wish to this lovely, lovely lady? Well, of course, I could not do so. So I am now wishing her a very warm Happy Birthday Greeting.

Gentle hugs,
"Auntie"
“Hath the pearl less whiteness Because of its birth?
Hath the violet less brightness For growing near earth?”

~Thomas Moore

Diane said...

God bless this special lady and happy birthday to her. I can only hope to live to be 100! Diane

Gina said...

Happy 100th Birthday to your dear, sweet friend, Mary! She looks like a lovely lady. God Bless her!

Denise at Forest Manor said...

Debbie, I love, love this wonderful post!! What a charming and precious little lady! You can tell by looking at the expression on her face that she has an "unsinkable" outlook on life.

I was just talking about the Titanic to my hubs last night, and I'm so glad you shared this story with us. Happy Birthday to Miss Mary, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Denise

Denise said...

Happy Birthday to precious Mary. Such a sweet story.

Canadagirl said...

You are soooooooo blessed to know such a wonderful young lady. [o= As long as you twinkle you are young. I knew such a person once and loved him dearly. They are the BEST people.

Blessings and ((HUGS)) my friend!
-Mary

Lynn said...

Aw, that's so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. Happy Birthday to your friend:@)

Sharlotte said...

Hi Debbie,
What a sweet post and such a remarkable lady. What a twinkle she does have in those eyes!

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

What a beautiful Southern Lady ! How blessed to have her friendship and I'm sure you bless her as well.
thanks for sharing Miss Mary with us.

Vee said...

Oh doesn't she just! You are very blessed and I think she is, too. A very Happy Birthday to such a remarkable woman and many more!

Renée said...

How blessed you are to have been given a sweet friend who fills you with so much inspiration. I always appreciate your insights regarding her and aspire to be the best I can be to others because of roll models like this grand woman. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful 100 birthday tribute.

Ginger said...

I dearly loved the twins when I lived there! When I was in my 20's and going to a zillion bridal showers, they were usually invited also. When they learned that I (at the time) had no husband prospects, they gave me some great advice: "Don't worry, honey, you've got the rest of your life to be married!" Happy Birthday to a precious lady!

Denise said...

She truly is a wonderful lady. I'd never thought about the twinkle but you are so right. She's always so appreciative of everything. I'm glad I could help celebrate her 100th birthday. Blessings to Miss Mary.

Ann said...

What a special person to have in your life, Debbie. I am fortunate too, to have an "antique" lady in my life ... my Aunt who turns 96 on the 16th. Ladies such as these are true treasures of life.

Thank you for sharing yours.

Cheers!

Ann said...

What a special person to have in your life, Debbie. I am fortunate too, to have an "antique" lady in my life ... my Aunt who turns 96 on the 16th. Ladies such as these are true treasures of life.

Thank you for sharing yours.

Cheers!

Ann said...

Huh? I didn't post twice .... weird.

Anonymous said...

Debbie, thank you so much for visiting my blog and for commenting. Very nice to meet you. :D

Mary looks like such a sweet woman and she DOES have that twinkle! Happy Birthday to Mary.

Blessings,

Gina

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

Oh, I love this post! Please pass along a BIG Happy Birthday to Miss Mary and tell her I want to twinkle like she does when I'm her age! I suspect (for starters) she'd tell me to laugh a lot, keep the faith, and always use my best manners. What a joy to have her in your life. I know you'll always treasure your times together. Thank you for letting us in on some of them!

The Decorative Dreamer said...

Thank you for sharing this beautiful story of an absolutely beautiful woman. She certainly does twinkle! What a blessing to have such a treasured friend. Wishing her a very happy 100th birthday too!

Tanna said...

She is one amazing lady this Miss Mary. I started following your blog aftr reading about her standing Sunday morning date with Mr. Lotsa Hair. =) Happy, Happy 100th to your dear, sweet friend. blessings ~ tanna
ps thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers, Debbie.

Linda @ Life and Linda said...

You have shared a beautiful story. What a treasure to have her in your life. Not many can claim they made it to 100.
Enjoy your Sunday. Linda

Christine said...

I feel it a privilege just to read about this special Lady. I can't even imagine knowing her and looking into those eyes.
Well written and fun to read Debbie.

Debbiedoos said...

OH Debbie what a sweet sweet post. I really like the vintage twinkle saying, very cute! What a neat lady!

Linda W said...

What a lovely birthday tribute! This makes me want to twinkle, too!

Sharon said...

What an incredible woman. She is just precious. My favorite part of her *twinkle* is that it obviously comes from inside. Don't you just see Jesus in those eyes?!

God bless her on her very special day. She brought joy to my little corner of the world today...

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing you lovely post! She is looking great! My she have many more.Joann

Sue said...

This is one of the sweetest Birthday wishes and tribute to a lovely Southern belle, I have ever had the privilege to read, and enjoy,What a beautiful gracious lady!And what a great example to us all to age gracefully. Thank you for sharing.
Hugs,
Sue

Anonymous said...

What a lovely lady! I remember that wonderful post with Sir Lotsa Hair!

corners of my life said...

Such a lovely tribute.

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

What a special post for a special lady. I'm partial to twins, I must say.

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Debbie, I've been missing your posts. This is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful lady with incredible spirit. Your post about your sweet husband walking her into church was one of my all-time favorites. Happy Birthday, Mary. Debbie obviously feels fortunate to count you as a friend, and you and I are lucky to count Debbie as a friend. laurie

Kathleen said...

I remember that post with that pic of her with the young man!
God bless her, what an inspiration!
And don t worry about the Good Earth party! There will be other challenges! Now memorize your speech! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh! What a wonderful post celebrating a lovely lady and repositor of 100 years of living history!! Such a grand story - and how blessed you are to know her.
Joy!
Kathy

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