“Once the ‘what’ is decided, the ‘how’ always follows. We must not make the ‘how’ an excuse for not facing and accepting the ‘what.'”
– Pearl S. Buck

Issaquah, Washington

About Pearl S. Buck

Prolific American author Pearl S. Buck is best known for her 1931 novel, The Good Earth, which depicted peasant life in China; the book, published by the John Day Company, won the Pulitzer Prize. She was born in West Virginia on June 26, 1892, but her missionary parents raised her in China. She and her first husband lived in China until 1934, when they had to flee the political strife. She later divorced and married John Day’s publisher, Richard Walsh, in 1935. In 1938, she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. By the time of her death in 1973, she had published over 70 books, including collections of stories, poetry, and children’s literature.

“Choices are the hinges of destiny.”
– Pythagoras

Taken in Port Townsend Washington

About Pythagoras

Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, called the Father of Numbers, is best known for developing the Pythagorean Theorem. He was born on the Greek island of Samos in 570 BC and moved to Italy, where he founded a religious school preaching vegetarianism and reincarnation. He believed that everything could be explained by mathematics and measured in rhythmic cycles. He wrote nothing down; some theories ascribed to Pythagoras may have been discovered by his followers. He died around 495 BC.