Members of the Minnesota Vikings offense — John Henderson (80), Jim Vellone (63), John Beasley (87), Gene Washington (84), and Ron Yary (73) — try and stay warm during the 1969 NFL Championship game against the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings would go onto win 27-7 to capture the NFL title before losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. This was the last Super Bowl before the NFL-AFL merger. (Neil Leifer/SI)
SI VAULT: Vikings roll past Browns and advance to Super Bowl (1.26.70)
A lot has been said about single mothers. Most of it has been less than flattering.
In a notable nugget former Sen. Rick Santorum said at a town hall meeting, “We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it’s falling apart because of single moms.” Not long after that, in a public appearance in Erie, Pennsylvania, he accused single mothers of “simply breeding more criminals.” This past fall, he argued that single mothers voted Democrat because their lives were so hard and urged Republicans to “build two parent families” in order to “eliminate that desire for government.”
This Mother’s Day I confess that I am very proud to be from what some would call a broken home. Not because it was easy watching a young woman struggle to be a mother on her own after ending a violent marriage, but precisely because it was so very hard. And “hard” seems to be a word we now avoid, disparage, and devalue in our insta-everything culture.
In other words, the very values that Santorum and so many others say these solo moms undermine are just the values I learned from mine — and the community of women like her I grew up with outside Washington, D.C. What did we learn from these women who worked one or more miserably paid jobs while battling domestic turbulence, hunting for child support, hustling to pay rent, and forcing us to do our homework all on their own?
Everything.Read more. [Image: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon]
Statue of Christ of the Abyss, Florida
Photo: Bates Littlehales
Modern lavvu overlooking Holmevatnet Lake in Troms, Norway by Haukur Sigurðsson.
Lavvu (also Laavo) are the traditional tipi-like dwellings of the Sami, indigenous peoples of the northernmost lands of Scandinavia, and were originally designed for semi-nomadic reindeer herding on windy, tree-less plains.
Cairo. Revolutionary singer Ramy Essam (who is responsible for the Egyptian revolutionary anthem, Irhal, and whose new album is available for free download on his website) takes a rest amidst protests and clashes with police on February 4th. As the photographer, Mostafa Sheshtawy notes, he has been “there since the beginning.”
Photo © Mostafa Sheshtawy.
(1) I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
“This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.”
(2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
“This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”
(3) I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
“Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.”
(4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
“Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.”
(5) I wish that I had let myself be happier.
“This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”
Shacks in Trentino, Alto Adige, Italy.
Submitted by Ezio Ambrosetti.
