Monday, March 09, 2009

Cheeky Georgia O'Keefe and Friend

If there were ever a person who went her own way, it was the famously abrupt Georgia O'Keefe.

The Smithsonian Journeys blog has a charming story about an encounter with the painter: "The Day I Met Georgia O'Keefe."

The boldest individual involved is the author who tells of the day she approached O'Keefe's house in Abiquiu, New Mexico, carrying a handful of wilted lilacs. Many a bold individual would have dropped the lilies and run.





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Show Up, Speak Out

When I started my first full-time job after college as a news reporter, I met at the NC Legislature a red-headed woman who was always there working on behalf of good causes. The League of Women Voters is the one I recall from back then, 39 years ago. Her name was Betty Ann Knudsen, and she kept on and on and on with her efforts.

This morning I saw by chance the Facebook page of documentary moviemaker Erica Rothman that a movie has been made about Knudsen: Show Up, Speak Out Perfect title, perfect person to represent that philosophy.

Here's the promo: "Betty Ann Knudsen was born six years after women gained the right to vote. Her parents were staunchly-conservative Republicans but she grew up to become a liberal Democrat, a feminist, and one of the most effective grassroots organizers in North Carolina. She was the first female head of the Wake County Commission; ran for the office of NC Secretary of State in 1984; and traveled all over North Carolina training and mentoring hundreds of women who later ran and won public office or political appointments. In 2008 she earned the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor in North Carolina, recognizing a lifetime of extraordinary service to the state. This film is a document and a tribute to her many accomplishments." www.mygalaxycinema.com

The premiere of this movie from Vivian Bowman, who teaches at Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, is at Galaxy Cinema in Cary, NC, on Monday, March 16,from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Brava, Betty Ann Knudsen! And those who document her accomplishments.