Today, as I write, is February 3rd.
On this particular day, in the year of 1874…. one extremely rocking individual entered this world in the form a little baby girl. Yes, Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (which later part of became Pittsburgh).
It was a Tuesday. They say that Tuesday’s child is full of grace. (I was born on a Wednesday. Woe is me.) February 3rd also would have made Stein an Aquarius.
Here’s what Astrology says about Aquarians…… These folks not only march to a different drummer, they make up new music as they go along.
They seem to be very ‘mind oriented’ individuals…. whose thoughts never stop rolling over and over again. Roll over. A whole big old bunch of inventors, eccentrics and highly original creative types are born under this sign. (I am a Taurus. Boring Bulls.)
The Aquarians have an exceedingly intense ability to live on many mental levels. This can cause both pain and pleasure for Aquarians.
I just read that in the “American Hall of Fame” there are more Aquarians than any other sign. But get this……. those same statistics reveal that in mental institutions there are more Aquarians than any other sign too.
THIS… is what one might call… “A Fine Line.”
At any rate, Gertrude rocked. She was an amazing writer, highly creative, and…. one of my very favorite things about her…. she was a collector, and appreciator of ART. Good art. Not Elvis-Presley-Black-Velvet-Painting-Art. NO. She knew a talented painter when she saw one.
By early 1906, Gertrude Stein’s studio had many paintings by Henri Manguin, Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Honoré Daumier, Henri Matisse, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Holy Crap.
Stein met her life partner Alice B. Toklas on September 8, 1907. Quite a couple, they were. And what a life they must have led. With great walls.
She said many important things in her life…. but had many “quips” too.
Like “The deepest thing in any one is the conviction of the bad luck that follows boasting”
and….
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.”
Stein died at the age of 72 from stomach cancer. When Stein was being wheeled into the operating room for surgery on her stomach, she asked Toklas, “What is the answer?” When Toklas did not reply, Stein said, “In that case, what is the question?”
Hmmmmmmmm.
She is buried in Paris… where she had lived most of her life.
Yep. She was one spectacular, intelligent, and visionary woman. Thank you very much Gertrude Gerty Gert. For all the totally cool and profound things you gave the world.
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Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.
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