Just in case you're not familiar with Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. It is a children's story about a girl who is raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather tells her wonderful stories of all of the places that he has visited and how he came to live by the sea. The little girl decides that she too would like to visit lots of places and live by the sea. Her grandfather tells her "that is all very well, little Alice, but there is one more thing you must do. You must do something to make the world more beautiful."
Alice, the little girl, grows up and becomes a librarian. She realizes her dreams by traveling to far away places and eventually goes to live by the sea. Eventually Miss Rumphius also makes the world beautiful by scattering lupine seeds all over the countryside.
The first time that this book was read for me I absolutely loved it and wanted to grow up to be Miss Rumphius. Through the years I had completely forgotten this story and the impact it had on me until I was at a cultural event where the realities of Maine were critically discussed via the interpretations presented through children's books. It was afterward when I was thinking about Miss Rumphius and remembering how much I loved that book that I realized - I became Miss Rumphius! I have traveled to far away places, I am a librarian and I now live by the sea!! Like Miss Rumphius I also walk or bicycle to my destinations but unfortunately I have yet to do my great bit to make the world a more beautiful place.
While I would like to do more traveling and certainly spend much more time being a librarian and living by the sea while I realize my project for making the world more beautiful, this blog will be dedicated to all of those pursuits and the adventures along the way.
So, here's to becoming Miss Rumphius!
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