Moon Petal

I haven’t slept in about three days. In a sense I’m going crazy and would just love to lay down even for a couple of hours or so just to catch a few winks or make some kind of transition from day to day. However, well, for one I’ve always struggled a bit with sleep issues, or shall I say lack of sleep issues, but lately I’ve been so exited about my upcoming trip to Atlanta, Georgia that I can hardly, well, sleep. It’s my ten year high school reunion and I haven’t been home since I graduated from high school and went off to college. My parents were the only family I had in Atlanta and they retired shortly after I finished high school. Shortly after I left town they moved to Michigan so there has really never been much of a reason for me to return. Until now, that is.
You see, the main reason I’m going to this reunion, well okay, there’s the fact that I finished law school and am enjoying a successful practice as a criminal defense lawyer, but I’m really not interested in going there to brag. It turns out that John, the guy I had an enormous crush on all throughout high school has recently divorced his wife. We actually dated for a short period of time during my junior year, but this was during a break up phase that he and Jolie, his soon to be ex wife, were experiencing. Not to get into rumors or stories of the past, but she definitely concocted a lie that led to the two of them getting back together and eventually marrying. Dang I did not like her. I hope she’s at the reunion.

In addition to John, who is the major reason that I can’t seem to sleep, I also want to see my old friend Trent and my friend Joan. They are the two people, other than John that I’m returning to see. In fact I have plans with the two of them to see a Hawks game at Philips Arena and I was even sneaky enough to buy an extra ticket so I can coincidentally offer it to John when the subject randomly gets brought up. The reunion is going to take place at one of the http://hotelsatlanta.net and I have a room booked there as well. I wonder where John will be staying. I heard that he’s planning on moving back to Atlanta but I don’t really know the scoop. And I know this isn’t nice and even somewhat catty, but all I need to know is that he’s getting a divorce. And hey, he was stolen under false pretense after all. It serves her right, and I wish her the best.

The Rockefeller family has been influential for many generations, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. has provided the city of New York, and the world of art, with a wealth of artistic pieces.  It was Junior who changed the reputation of the entire family through his generous philanthropic acts and his involvement in social causes.  He moved with his family to New York in 1884, when he was just ten years old.  In his adult life he would become known for his self determined and subdued spirit, but as a child he suffered greatly from stress related illnesses and soon was plagued with nervous breakdowns that, although he remained successful and functional, would disrupt him for the rest of his life.

He was the youngest of four, the only son in a family of sisters, and although the Rockefellers were quite wealthy, the frugal household demanded that he wear his sister’s hand me down clothing.  Once he entered college his life changed.  He became aware of social issues that were outside the realm of his own privileged up bringing, and met a woman that changed his life, if not the life of the people of New York, forever.  Her name was Abby Aldrich, and she was the daughter of a U.S. senator.  She was not taken with the idea of his family’s money, but she was taken with the world of art, and she brought a new vitality to life of John Jr.  Once they were married, he had continued to work for the family business, Standard Oil.

But this soon came to an end when he decided in 1910 to quit the business and devote his life to philanthropic causes.  Not only does the collection of sculptures at the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, owe itself to Rockefellers donations, but he also was involved with, and donated substantial amounts of money, to conservation efforts and organizations, from the Acadia National Park located in Maine to  Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. From the city streets to the  hallways of the best hotels, New York City was forever changed due to the efforts of this one man.  He handed over control of the Rockefeller Center to his 5 sons, and moved far away to the city of Tucson, Arizona where he lived out the rest of he 86 years in peace and the quiet of the desert town.