Gloria

Lyrics: I don’t tell you what to say/ I don’t tell you what to do/ So just let me be myself/ That’s all I ask of you.

She’s in her 81st year and she sold out the 2500 seat concert hall.  Elders, middle-aged, and an impressive number of young people including articulate teenagers cheered almost every utterance.  There was a sprinkling of progressive men in the audience but this was a women’s event and a celebration of a female icon, Gloria Steinem.

Gloria, as she asked to be called, was masterfully interviewed for an hour by Cheryl Strayed, author of the autobiographical Wild.  It was then opened up to the audience and one by one women of all ages took to the microphone to express their gratitude for the life and work of this former Playboy bunny and founder of Ms. Magazine.  Was that when I took to prefacing my name with Ms. instead of Mrs.?

Back in the 80’s I participated in a Toastmaster’s group and worked my way through the speaker’s book that provided themes and outlines for speeches.  I don’t remember the particular theme when I gave a talk based on a chapter in one of Steinem’s books titled, If Men Menstruated.  I’ll never forget the shocked looks on my audience’s faces when I announced the title.  It was a pretty good talk, if I say so myself, and afterwards one of the men, a true Southern gentleman, came up to me and said in his soft southern accent, “Why Barbara, are you a feminist?”  He could have been asking if I was a prostitute or a Nazi.  I replied that indeed I was a feminist.  “But, you’re a mother,” he replied.

Steinem talked about campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment back in the 70’s and its failure to amend the constitution.  Again, I remembered writing to my legislator and expressing my dismay that we (women) even needed an amendment to establish our equality.  Weren’t we citizens of the USA?  Oh yes, the Constitution says, “All men are created equal.”  Whether deliberately intending to omit women, that was the belief of the times.

Is this an issue for elders?  Of course.  We have daughters, daughters-in-law, granddaughters, and we’re mentors to generations of females and their male counterparts.  It’s about more than equal pay.  It’s about honor, dignity, recognition, achievement, empowerment and opportunities.  Some young women feel they have equality already and don’t recognize the need for an ERA.  Recently Meryl Streep sent a letter to all 535 members of Congress calling on them to revive the ERA.  She was ignored by all but five.  Maybe her new movie, Suffragette, will stir things up again.

Those who have a stereotypical image of feminists as vocally strident bra burners should have an hour or two with Gloria Steinem.  Her compassion for women and feminine causes, human causes, global causes, is inspirational and a testimony to a life well lived.  Her book is, My Life on the Road.

Lyrics: You don’t own me/ Don’t try to change me in any way/ You don’t own me/ Don’t tie me down ’cause I’d never stay.  (Lesley Gore’s feminist anthem, You Don’t Own Me.)

ROSES IN JANUARY, THE AGING ADVENTURE

LYRICS:  I’m looking over a four leaf clover/ that I overlooked before/ One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain/ Third is the roses that bloom in the lane.

This blog started in 2012 with the title, Roses in January, The Aging Adventure.  Somewhere along the line, I started titling each posting with reference to the subject matter of that particular post.  This posting is a follow up to past topics and I revert back to the original title; something like a Fall Homecoming.

I’ve made many references to Sage-ing International in the past.  I attended their conference in 2014 and it was fabulous.  Since then I have been attending a monthly Wisdom Circle which is an outgrowth of Sage-ing.  So, for those of you who might be interested, the next Conference will be held October 20-23, 2016 at the Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, Colorado.  Check http://www.sage-ing.org for details.  Loveland is about 1 and 1/2 hours north of Denver and transportation will be available from the airport.  A good time to see the beautiful Aspens.

Last posting (October 1st) I wrote about plans to withdraw funding from Seattle’s Senior Centers. prompting me to send off an email to the Mayor.  It took almost a month but I finally received a response from the Human Services Department.  While waiting, I spoke with staff at two different centers  They didn’t know what was going on and encouraged me to keep pushing for answers.  I also exchanged a few emails with one of the columnists with the Seattle Times.  According to the city’s response, funding for senior centers will continue.  United Way is redirecting their funding from Seniors to Youth.

I’m now going into my third week tutoring a third grade boy.  (September 29th post)  Quite a learning curve.  We’re building a relationship — at least I’m trying.  It’s believed that a good relationship is more important than what we can teach.  I attended a workshop for Tutors and that was helpful.  When in a game with other students and staff and asked for the answer to 9X8, I froze.  Where’s the calculator?  I’m definitely out of my comfort zone.  Fortunately the correct answer surfaced before I turned purple.  So the tutor in learning.

SCAMS (December 8, 2014).  Scams are ever present.  You may be alert to phone/email scams but perhaps a family member or friend isn’t as was my case when a friend was taken in by the IRS scam and lost $20,000.  The scammers tapped into her fear.  Other scams prey on our desire for riches.  If you are getting the AARP monthly bulletin look for the Scam Alert page or go to http://www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.  You will find some eye-opening articles there.  Want to know why drugs are so expensive?  Read the article, The Truth About the Rockefeller Drug Empire.

The roses are hanging on but winds and rain have taken their toll.  Wonder if there will be any roses in January?

Lyrics: I’m looking over a four leaf clover/ I overlooked before/ One leaf is sunshine/ The second is rain/ Third is the roses that bloom in the lane.  (Lyrics by Emmy Rossum.  Original by Art Mooney)