Nana, sweetest Anna Rita. I very much agree with Rob…”your life was better for just having known her”. She was the epitome of what a true lady is. How lucky and blessed were we to have met her, known her, loved her? Her heart and door was always open. I know I will never meet anyone like Anna Rita. She certainly lived a full life. And I just had to look it up…major inventions since Anna Rita graced this world! (She was born 52 years after the Civil War (1861-1865)! “The major tech invention in 1917? The toggle light switch.” I had to look it up also - what’s a toggle switch!? (“Toggle: A toggle light switch is the most common style. It has a single toggle that sticks out from the faceplate. The toggle is switched up or down to turn the light on or off.”), the electric blender, radio tuners, the abdication of Russian Czar Nicholas II, pop up toasters, invention of the traffic light, Band-aids, the new sport water skiing, frozen products (Birdseye), sunglasses, cheeseburgers, America’s entry into WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Global War on Terror, Wimbledon Championships (1922), the tomb of Tutankhamen is discovered, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is formed, and Gandhi who wanted to end British Rule by peaceful means is put in prison by the British, 1st issue of Reader’s Digest, the first use of insulin as a diabetes treatment (1921), the radio, the airplane, Coca-Cola, average US hourly wage was 22 cents an hour, telephones, the speed limit in most cities was 10 mph, the disposable razor, the air conditioner, and the vacuum cleaner. Scotch tape, Daylight Savings Time, sanitary pads, Kleenex, zippers, the “Hollywood sign”, born five years after Titanic sank (1912), penicillin (1928), satellites, a trip to the moon, television, and don’t even get me started with modern technology…camera phones, USB flash drives, computer mouse, Bluetooth, iPods, the video gaming revolution, LinkedIn, AI….Lord have mercy. I just can’t keep up. And check out the Presidents of the United States since 1917 when Anna Rita was born!
(19 in total):
Woodrow Wilson
1913–1921
Warren Harding
1921–1923
Calvin Coolidge
1923–1929
Herbert Hoover
1929–1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933–1945
Harry S. Truman
1945–1953
Dwight Eisenhower
1953–1961
John F. Kennedy
1961–1963
Lyndon Johnson
1963–1969
Richard Nixon
1969–1974
Gerald Ford
1974–1977
Jimmy Carter
1977–1981
Ronald Reagan
1981–1989
George H. W. Bush
1989–1993
William J. Clinton
1993–2001
George W. Bush
2001–2009
Barack Obama
2009–2017
Donald J. Trump
2017–2021
Joseph R. Biden
2021–present
Anna Rita, what can I say. You ARE a legend, indelible in our hearts. It was an honor and privilege in knowing you. I thank my sister, Sandra, for that. Had she not met Bill, I would not have been blessed in getting to know you. I am privileged - very few can claim such an honor. Thank you for your unconditional love, your loving hands and face. God sent an angel to earth when he created you. I love you and I miss you. I’m thankful you’re with your parents, your family, your friends and with Pop pop. Rest in peace, Anna Rita, rest in peace.
