Susan Steen

1 week ago | mainstreetmediatn.com | Ivan Aronin |Susan Steen

“Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating…too often fathers neglect it because they get so caught up in making a living they forget to make a life.” ― John Wooden, “Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court”I’ve heard it over and over, in conversations with friends, in passing remarks from strangers. Not every father was a daddy. And that is heartbreaking. For many, even the idea of “God the father” feels cold, not comforting.

3 weeks ago | mainstreetmediatn.com | Ivan Aronin |Susan Steen

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” ― Vincent Van GoghIt’s “such a long way” to the mailbox. And addressing that envelope and finding the stamp I want to use will take so long. So, a few days later than I wanted, the letter made its way to the mailbox in time for our mail carrier to take it to the post office for me. It took me less than two minutes to address the envelope, put a stamp on it, and walk it to the mailbox.

4 weeks ago | mainstreetmediatn.com | Ivan Aronin |Susan Steen

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries sheWith silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”– Emma Lazarus, from “The New Colossus”October 28, 1886. What a magnificent day.

1 month ago | mainstreetmediatn.com | Ivan Aronin |Susan Steen

“I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life … a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans … teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace.” — Ronald Reagan (Farewell Address, 1989)In one of the folders of family papers I was researching for someone, I came across a story that said when a family came to America, their child also came but was inside a barrel.

1 month ago | mainstreetmediatn.com | Ivan Aronin |Susan Steen

“She said, ‘I walked out of Auschwitz into life … I will never say anything that couldn’t stand as the last thing I ever say.” –Benjamin Zander, “Lessons from Auschwitz”I often say to myself, “Today, I will speak kind words.” It sounds simple enough — and in many ways, I suppose it is, but the doing part is a challenge at times. I just decide I want to speak kindness into others’ lives, and it happens (in my perfectly set intentions).