Famous Spinster Birthday - Oprah Winfrey

"Be thankful for what you have, you'll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."  -- Oprah Winfrey

Born:  January 29, 1954

Today in Queen Bess's Life

In 1547, Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, died.  And that is when the proverbial shit started hitting the fan, so to speak.  Even though Henry had a male heir that was also a protestant, he was just a child -- and sickly.  Right behind him was her older sister, Mary, who was Roman Catholic and wanted to bring the country back to her mother's religion -- and then there was Elizabeth.

Dude had a lot of things wrong with him when he died -- morbid obesity, pussing ulcerated sores, paranoia ... Definitely not cute.  There was a rumor that he had syphilis, but more modern theories suggest untreated Type 2 Diabetes.  With his lifestyle, it probably could have been either -- or both.

I'll have to admit that part of my motivation for including Henry's death in this series is my morbid fascination with his burial.  Four years earlier, a Franciscan Friar (Peto), condemned the king from the pulpit and compared him to King Ahab in the Bible.  Peto said that dogs would lick up his blood at his death.

Today in Queen Bess's Life

On this day in 1533, King Henry VIII (Elizabeth's father) married his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth's mother).

It was a courtship that lasted a little over four years as Henry tried to work out the details of divorcing from his first Queen, Catherine of Aragon.  During that time, Henry did not hold back when writing love letters to his beloved:

"It is absolutely necessary for me to obtain this answer, having been for above a whole year stricken with the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail of finding a place in your heart and affection..."

On Henry's part at least, it seems that the union was born out of love.  The cynical believe it was solely for the purpose of providing Henry his much wanted (and needed) male heir -- though that was part of the objective -- that his first Queen could not provide.  Others contend that Anne was not in love with him but was the pawn of her greedy, social climbing family that saw her position of Queen as a means to gain social status and the wealth that comes with the favours of a generous King.

Whether or not the marriage was a result of politics, the impact on politics was profound.  Henry was eventually excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Paul III.  Not to be deterred, Henry installed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Willing or not, I can't help but believe that Anne had no idea the impact her marriage would have on the world.

Purposely Single?

What used to be, "What is Wrong with Me?"

I have never been a "Dating Machine".  In college, I think I managed three dates.  Not even one date a year.  I attributed this to one reason:  I was fat and ugly.  I believed that because during the first half of my senior year in high school, I was subjected to my ex boyfriend (who had dumped me for my best friend the year before) and his best friend waiting for me at the top of the stairs by my locker to greet me every morning with, "Good morning!  You're especially ugly and fat today."  When they would see me in the halls, they would make comments like, "Fat-ass."

I believed them because I was a bigger girl.  I was a humongous size 9!!!  A size which would make be blissful these days.  But, among the girls in my school, that did make me a cow.  It was the late 80s -- eating disorders were prevalent and access to fast food was extremely limited in our small town.  Low self-esteem was the obvious result.

Over the years, my confidence in myself improved, but the number of dates increased only slightly.  So I couldn't blame it on being fat -- there had to be something wrong with me.  Then RLF came to live with me and we would go out together and I would get upset when she would get hit on at a bar and I would not.  I didn't blame any guys who hit on her because she is quite lovely -- I blamed her for not "toning it down" around her "plain" aunt.

She would get frustrated, "Uhm!  That guy was hitting on you.  You just wouldn't talk with him!"