You will see me over the next week, posting some "Chicken Soup for the Liberal Soul"

[cap]

My grandfather deserted from the Russian Army in Siberia and managed to get from one end of Russia to the other and then over to America.

My father was homeless during the Great Depression, and managed to get his PhD.

My uncles on my mother's side built three family homes with their own hands because they did not want to get into debt and lose their home to foreclosure like their parents did during the Great Depression. They dug out their own foundations. These homes are well built and still standing today.

My mother went without food and never bought a new piece of clothing to send her kids to the best schools she could afford.

As a college kid, I went without food at times and had some very nerve wracking moments at the end of the month when my bills were due. Somehow I managed to pay them. I have a college degree from an Ivy League university.

I am going to walk through some very difficult times with the rest of this country. I know what pain and heartbreak are. But I am going to walk right through it and come out smelling like a rose.

So, we are going to work harder, live a little simpler, think globally and act locally. I am going to hold our politician's feet to But there will be a deeper meaning to our lives. The Progressive movement is a movement that looks out for other people.

I want people to talk about me the way that they talked about my mother at her funeral: She was a model of action on other people's behalf. She stood up for what she believed in, even if she was the only one.
The whole community came out to say good bye to her.

Not a bad legacy

[hlthe2b]

1. Great post..... We can all pay it forward and lead by example

I have some of this tough stock intermingled through my family as well. And, when I really really needed help during the darkest periods of my life, I got it. We need to lead by example and pay it forward. :thumbsup:

[blondeatlast]

2. Hear, hear. My dad was the son of Depression-era tenant farmers

and had 7 bros and sisters, all but one of whom graduated college (mostly on the GI Bill).

We will thrive if we think forward.

:thumbsup:

[cap]

3. it means a tough minded focus on what's truly important

jobs, health care and education for all.

[applegrove]

4. What a great legacy you have in your family.