American Legends ~ Johnny Appleseed, Authenticity in Action

...One mother's quest to find out the essence of what it means to be American...

Did you know there is a Johnny Appleseed Festival in northern Massachusetts and a Johnny Appleseed parade in Ohio? There are. They take place at the end of September every year, commemorating Johnny Appleseed's birthday and his contribution to the American landscape. 


Johnny Appleseed is a real person whose lineage and life can be traced through history. He was born in Leominster, MA in 1775 and died in Ohio in 1845. During his 70 years on this earth, he saw the land of America rise from a rabble of fledging colonies, competing with each other for trade and reparation from England, to a comprehensive, cohesive, "united" states. 


Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman was not the seed-sower that is depicted in elementary classrooms across the country. Rather, he was a businessman, albeit an unusual one. Legend states that Johnny walked around barefoot in all weather, with a tin can for a hat and tattered rags for clothes. He ate berries, slept outside, made water from snow, and refused to harm any living thing, including bugs. He spouted Bible passages and mini sermons, based on the philosophies of the Swedenborg Christians. One time, when a traveling minister asked "Where is the man who, like the primitive Christian, walks toward heaven barefoot and clad in sackcloth," Johnny Appleseed stepped forward and said, "Here is a primitive Christian." 


While sporting behaviors that could be described as a trifle eccentric, Johnny Appleseed still managed to run a prosperous orchard business. Having taken seeds from the cider mills of Pennsylvania, Johnny travelled west to plant them in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. His orchard empire spread over 100,000 square miles and several of his trees still blossom and fruit to this very day! Johnny sold saplings to his neighbors for 6 cents each but he was not adverse to bartering. He would just as quickly give a sapling away for cornmeal, old clothes, or a promissory note. His pro-active attitude stretched beyond feeding his neighbors to ensuring their safety in all matters. In 1812, he travelled through the night, warning lonely farmsteads of a possible Native retaliation, which had been incited by the British. 


Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman died of pneumonia while on the road in Ohio. He is buried in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on a 12 acre grave site that has been named the "Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park." On his grave, the following phrase has been etched: "He lived for others."

Johnny Appleseed lived an authentic life. He did not merely spout his beliefs and values, rather, he lived them. His life was completely different from the "norm," yet he prospered and, now, is long remembered. Our lesson from Johnny Appleseed is to embrace our differentness, our truth, our authentic self and ACT upon those truths. Johnny Appleseed teaches us that, as Americans, there is room for all our differing thoughts and ideas. There is no "right" way to do things. The only right way is the one we decide for ourselves. Once we have figured that out, we can live fully in our truth, in our authenticity, and be prosperous, joyous, and happy.    

Tiger Moms? What about Yaks?

I just read the article about "Tiger Moms" in Time Magazine. It was the cover story. A cover story about parenting... and not just in Parenting or Fit and Pregnant but in Time! Insert appropriate nonsensical sound here. Color me excited!

To re-cap the article, a Chinese-American woman and Yale Law Professor, Amy Chua, wrote a memoir entitled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which she describes her harsh, strict, traditional Chinese parenting style. Since it is a published memoir and since it is not mouldering in some long-forgotten corner of her study, you can be assured that her style of parenting is extreme. Extremely extreme. And, as such, it has gotten a LOT of press (hence, Time Magazine) and a lot of negative buzz on the Internet. Many mothers have responded emotionally, by calling Chua a "monster." Time, however, in true devil's advocate fashion, has decided to take the "maybe this is necessary because America is falling behind in the world on so many levels" approach. The article that follows Chua's is titled "Tiger Daughter ~ An American in Shanghai reports: I'm glad my kid has a tiger mom."

Now before we all jump on the "tiger bandwagon" and start enforcing perfection and high expectations, I'd like to mention a few things.

1. Look into two Chinese-American authors ~ Maxine Hung Kingston and Amy Tan. They tell a completely different story in relation to the "traditional" Chinese parenting style. (And they're fabulous writers too!) It's important to get lots of points of view when considering altering one's philosophy.

2. Have you ever considered the idea that America, as a country, may have an identity crisis and a lack of self-esteem? I mean, we go around wielding our clubs and making a lot of fuss and racket but spend an inordinate amount of time comparing ourselves to others. I wonder if France does that. Or Great Britain. Or China. Why do we make such a big stink about our values and the need to uphold them around the world while constantly trying to be like everyone else? Why can't we just be ourselves? Why is the "traditional Chinese parenting style" of such interest to us? We're not Chinese.

3. Remember, these children, your children, are going to be looking after you in your old age. And, unlike China, which is culturally-conditioned to honor and revere the elders of the family, America is all about the shiny and new. Elders are only barely tolerated and that's mostly because they have an excellent lobbying force in Washington. If you don't want to end up in the cheapest nursing home in your town, you might re-think being a "Tiger Mom." After all, what goes around, comes around!