Amelia and Shirley

My husband and I saw the movie Amelia tonight, about Amelia Earhart. It was a wonderful film, and I came home with an admiration for her bravery and sense of adventure. She lived her dreams, in a time when women didn't do that very often. She valued her sense of freedom more than anything on earth, and her loss is still felt today.
When I arrived home and checked my email, I found a message from an old friend from high school with whom I have recently connected. He wrote to tell me that another friend, a woman I knew throughout elementary and high school, had passed away from cancer. Shirley was a home town girl, the polar opposite of Amelia Earhart. She went to school, married, had children, worked as a teacher, and died within no more than a hundred mile radius of the small Illinois town where I grew up. But I think Shirley lived her dream, too, although I have not been in contact with her for years. But I remember a very intelligent teenage friend who knew what she wanted. She was happiest with the security of family and close friends.
I am neither an Amelia nor a Shirley. But I have to say I lean a little more toward the Amelia side. I have never flown a plane -- at least, not yet. But I am always up for a new adventure, always ready to try something new. I crave freedom, love a challenge, although I go more for intellectual than physical challenges.
But this isn't about me tonight -- it's about Amelia and Shirley, two women I am thinking about tonight, who both gave their best to the world in their lives.