Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Well, I can’t write about dunderheads, like Tom Emmer, Michele Bachmann and Gregg Steinhafel all the time. Sometimes I must write about the wonderful people; and Amy Krouse Rosenthal is certainly won wonderful won of them (as I put it – because it’s the way she might do it).
by Charlie Leck

I’ve written here before about Amy…

Once in Love with Amy

Beckoning of Lovely

A Couple of Quotes

…but, Amy is a constantly evolving wonder and it’s difficult to keep up with her and what she’s writing or filming – or just plain doing – next. I’ve never – in all these lonnnng years met anyone like her. Is it enough to say she’s creative? No, it’s not nearly enough. You must add that she’s delightfully and ingeniously creative. As a communicator, she may be the best I’ve ever encountered. If you don’t know about Amy Krouse Rosenthal, you simply must, must, must!

The latest extraordinary, entrepreneurial adventure of Amy Krouse Rosenthal is the Mending Machine. New Yorkers are going crazy looking for this hot new item. And just below is a beautiful video about the Mending Machine that you must watch.

I hope it took your breath away, as it did mine.

Then, if you have a hankering to learn just a little more about this wonderful woman, go to this blog, Watch. Connect. Read. (Exploring Children’s Literature through Book Trailers). Your heart will soar as you get to know her. There are four or five videos on this blog that will allow you to get some of the same feelings about Amy that I have.

Amy has taught me an awful lot about being a better person. I feel her impact on my life nearly every day. Her life’s theme is beckoning lovely! Because of her, I try to surprise someone every day with little acts of unexpected and joyful generosity. I suggest to people that they try to raise their kids on the idea of beckoning lovely! What a way to go!

Thanks again, Amy, for all these new and wonderful ideas. Keep on keeping on, girl!

And, I mustn’t ever forget that it was my daughter, Erika, who introduced me to Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Her children know all about Amy and they feel about her as I do. I’m a 70+ year old crotchety old coot, but Amy makes me feel like a kid.

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A Couple Quotes

I’ve written a pot-load of serious blogs this week and I said to myself, “Charlie, it’s time to lighten up!”
by Charlie Leck

I’ve been ranting all week. I’ve got a headache from it. A book came in the mail – The Book of Eleven, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I get a kick out of her stuff, so I knew it would be the perfect way to lighten up.

“It’s not death per se that freaks me out, but rather the permanence of it all.”

Well, maybe not the perfect way, but Amy is funny and I like chuckling at her stuff.

“My parents were at the movies and about midway through the film, the fire alarm went off. They were all instructed to leave the theater for about ten minutes, and when they were allowed back in, everyone went back to their exact same seats.”

You’ve got to admit it’s a big change from my blogs about foolish bishops and pompous Senators.

In one chapter, Amy tells eleven really true (very short) stories in the book. One of them nearly knocked me on my knees laughing.

“When my fiancé and I got engaged he decided to sell his VW Rabbit because we only needed one car and his was a stick which I didn’t know how to drive. He put an ad in the paper that read, ‘Must sell car – fiancé can’t drive stick.’

“We came home one night to this message on his machine: ‘Yo, dickhead – teach the bitch to drive stick!’”

Amy really does knock me out. I can’t quote more or I’ll get in trouble with the copyright cops. The book is out of print but I found a copy on ABE, my favorite on-line source for out-of-print books.

To get serious for a moment…
It’s a big change to throw at you, but my email tonight included a meditation piece from Sojourners. I read it. Then I reread it. I sat quietly, for a pretty long time, and thought about it. I made myself a drink and read it again and thought about it some more.

"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly … Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and [God] will say, Here I am." [Isaiah 58:7-9]

Did you like that? I was quieted and brought to attention by this part of it: “Then your light shall break forth like dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.”

I like supporting the local food shelf here. I send them six or seven hundred each year. But, bring someone into my home? My own kin? What? How? Scripture is baffling!

My sister would do that! It didn’t frighten her. She believed her Lord called her to do it.

“Come home with me! I’ll feed you. You need a bath and I’ll find you clean, warm clothes.”

Her light broke forth like the dawn!

She was the only saint I ever knew. I miss her so.

And here, I told you I’d lighten up. Sorry! Sometimes my blogs just run on without me – I don’t know where they’re going and I can’t stop them.

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Amy at it Again

Amy's Grand Entrance into Millennium Park in Chicago, in front of the Bean.

I went down to Chicago for a special 11|11|11 celebration called The Beckoning of Lovely and it was an awful lot of fun!
by Charlie Leck

Last year I wrote a blog here called Once in Love with Amy. Well, Amy is still charming me and making me feel misty and mellow.

Amy Krause Rosenthal has been staging these loving and wonderful get-togethers since 2008. That one, of course, was on 8|8|08 at 8:08 p.m.. These gatherings are for people who believe love, compassion, understanding and helpfulness can cure everything. In may ways, they are correct!

If you want to understand Amy better, and perhaps fall head-over-heals with her as I have, then watch this lengthy video. It's more than an hour long, but you can take it in 5 part bites if you'd like. Watch it and I think you'll be nuts about Amy, too, and I think it will put a little more hopefulness in your soul. Amy sure has put more in mine.

I was in her audience in Chicago on Friday morning at 11:11 a.m. when Amy made her grand entrance (yellow umbrella and all) and she wowed us all again with her utter simplicity and her belief that we really, really can appreciate one another, whatever and whoever we might be.

You'll understand what I'm talking about a little better if you watch the video. Part I is below and you can find the rest under the Beckoning of Lovely tag on Amy's Website.

I've given away, mostly to strangers, 20 copies of Amy's wonderful little book, The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. It's out of print now or I'd send one to you too.

Below are a few scenes from the park on Thursday.

Blurred Entrance

Camera Man

Devotees

Marriage Proposal

Once in Love with Amy

In the Bean

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Once in love with Amy!

You’d better get to know Amy Krouse Rosenthal if you know what’s good for you!
by Charlie Leck

Every once in a while, I think, just because we need it, God puts someone very special on earth as a gift to us. Lately (1965), the big Kahoona gave us Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Do you know about her?

Lord, she’s wonderful! So, thanks a lot!

I think the big fella just thought we needed to smile more and share more of what makes us happy with other people.

I wish I’d discovered Amy sooner in my life. She makes me smile and want to sing. She gives me remarkable ideas about how to be kind and surprising! I tried a few of them – like her Change Project. And, yesterday, I just walked up to someone downtown and handed her a pretty bouquet of flowers. The woman was shocked and thought I was kooky, but I eventually convinced her to take the flowers and she touched my hand lightly and said “thank you.” That little touch made me feel terrific.

I read Amy’s lovely and unusual book the other day. It’s called Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. The book has had me doing crazy things I would not commonly do. Like… I mean… I wrote a description of the moon after I read Amy’s fiction entry in her encyclopedia.

“I am not attracted to fiction," Amy wrote, "and I feel bad about this… what do all the moon adjectives (full, half, a sliver) have to do with [anything]?: So Amy asked me to write and submit something about the moon and email it to her. I did.

The moon, I think, was an afterthought. The creator made light and darkness as well as the seas and those lands like islands in the seas. On the day the creator rested he looked at all he’d made and he was only troubled by the darkness. It needed a hint of something. So, the creator hung out a round lantern that would, in certain preordained periods of darkness, give varying degrees of lightness to the dark nights. It broke the monotony of the blackness and he expected that people would sometimes look in wonder at the lantern and, perhaps, make love by it. [Charles Leck]

I hope Amy reads it. I don’t know why, but I hope she does.

Amy put a little note in my copy of her book – just for me: “for Charlie… here’s to pure imagination…”

Then, gosh, she drew a little heart and signed it: Amy K.R.

My two Chicago granddaughters knew all about Amy before I did. They think she’s cool. One of my daughters cries a little bit when she describes Amy. I don’t blame her.

I want every one of my readers to get to know Amy. I won’t go on and on. Just check out why I think she’s so wonderful – unique and creative – loving and kind – imaginative and exciting – and just damned sweet. Visit Amy’s web page and get to know her. You won’t ever be sorry. I especially recommend you watch some of her videos – I really like the videos about her projects. For instance, watch this one about The Poetree!

And here’s the kicker! This is my first little Amy Project: I’ll send an absolutely free copy of her book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, to the first ten people who email me a request for it. Just say: “Charlie, send me a copy of Amy’s book!” And give me an address to which I can mail it!

Then, later today, I’m going to hide another 5 copies of Amy’s book somewhere around town and I’ll put a note in each one that congratulates the finder and wishes the finder a really happy day.

This is the impact Amy is having on me. Watch out! She may cure your grouchiness as well.

If you want to do something very spontaneous, try this little thing that Amy has recommended to her audiences. One time she asked all those gathered at one of her speeches to take out their cell phones and turn them on. Once on, she ask each person to send a text message to someone one on his/her contact list and simply type out: “I love you!”

I hope you got my text message cause I sent it to you!

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.