Edelstein’s essay to be featured on RIPR’s “This I Believe” series

salvetoday Posted On September 30, 2014
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An essay written by Myra Edelstein, associate professor of business studies and economics, will be featured on Rhode Island Public Radio’s “This I Believe” series scheduled to air on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Edelstein’s 400-word essay pays homage to her parents and the intriguing lessons they taught her.

“Growing up in my home we enjoyed an extraordinary array of hobbies and pets; each one providing lessons that helped shape who I am today,” Edelstein says. “My parents taught me, through all our crafts and creatures, skills like creative thinking, patience, perseverance and respect for nature and knowledge. From my essay one should begin to see that my parents created a living-learning lab right at home. I believe my parents were masters at helping us discover this wondrous world.”

Edelstein’s essay is scheduled to air at 6:35 a.m., 8:35 a.m. and 5:44 p.m. Wednesday. The three-minute segment will be broadcast on 88.1 FM, 102.7 FM and 91.5 FM. It will also be broadcast via live streaming worldwide at http://ripr.org/streaming.

Shortly after the broadcast the essay will become part of the “This I Believe – Rhode Island” page of the RIPR website. Modeled on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow, “This I Believe – Rhode Island,” hosted by Frederic Reamer, is an effort to share the many stories of people of Rhode Island.

Some excerpts from Edelstein’s essay:

If you want to encourage children to appreciate this wondrous world, then show them the wonders of the world that surround us. My parents were masters at this. We weren’t farmers and we weren’t zookeepers, but all our plants and animals made it seem like we wanted to be.

We were flooded with guppies, swarming with honeybees and inundated with hamsters but we never did produce a seahorse. It took five years to find a mate for the lady angel fish and 30 tanks to rear her babies. The avocado pit and pineapple top grew into beautiful plants. The night blooming cereus really did bloom only at night.

This I believe: My parents were brilliant for teaching me critical life skills and intriguing lessons by bringing so many wonders of the world into our home.