"We hold these truths to be self-evident:
that all women and men are created equal."
~Elizathbeth Cady Stanton

On this day in 1848,five women: Jane Hunt,
Mary Ann McClintock, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, and Martha C. Wright decided
to call for a convention. "To discuss the social,
civil, and religious conditions and rights of
women."
The time had come for women to shoulder the
responibility and by the afternoon the "Seneca
Falls Convention", was born. (July 19-20th)

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing
that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

In 1692 Bridget Bishop was the first Salem Witch hung.

In 1875 Mary McLeod Bethune was born. A woman
who though born to slaves- founded Bethune-Cookman
College in 1904; served as consultant to the U.S.
Secretary of War for selection of first female officers;
awarded the Haitian Medal of Honor; recieved the
the honor of Commander of the Order of the Star
of Africa.

In 1917 Emma Goldman was imprisoned for
obstructing the draft. She served two years then
was deported to Russia. She is buried in the U.S.A.

"One half of the world cannot understand the
pleasures of the other."
~Jane Austen

Ann Ward Radcliff, the world's first "bestseller", a pioneer
of the gothic novel;born 1764.

"Fanny Fern" or Sarah Willis, first woman columnist, (and
highest paid) novelist, suffergist, humorous,
helped form "Sorosis" a woman's press, born 1811.

Barbara Cartland, the top selling novelist of the 20th
century, over a billion books, published 723 novels,
Vogue calls her, "the true Queen of Romance", born 1901.
She died in 2000.

XX XY

This day in history Nettie Stevens was born in 1861.
In 1905 Nettie's experiments identified the
presence or absence of the Y chromosome; basically
if you got the Y then you will grow to be a guy. XY
Females are XX.

Mother Cabrini was the first American to be
canoized by the Catholic Church. Mother's work
opened much needed hospitals and orphanages
throughout the United States. Happy Birthday!

"Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops,
stars, molecules, microscopic entities, all come
in communities. The singular cannot in reality
exist."
~Paula Gunn Allen

Women Get Things Done

beingwoman
The 10:27 a.m. from Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham
was canceled at approximately 10:25 a.m. The next train?
1:27 p.m. With bad weather predicted for Wales, I thought,
WWRWD? (What would a real woman do?) So I listened
for a few moments as one woman yelled at the station
conductor and a young girl sobbed to her friend that she
didn't have £50 for a taxi.

Eager to arrive in Aberystwyth for my Fellowship course
at the Centre for Performance Research at 3:30 p.m. rather
thant 5:30 p.m., I did what most Americans abroad do
(only nicely). I simply said loudly enough to be heard
over the din of angry rail passengers, "Anyone interested in
sharing a cab to Birmingham?" The young girl from Edinburgh
stepped up first. (She had done the legwork and found out the
price of a taxi.) The Liverpudlian with an attitude (just back from
a mind-bogglingly hot sailing holiday in Greece and eager to return
for her night shift as an E.R. doctor, and a woman from Brazil
just going into Birmingham on a shopping holiday) stepped up.
We shared the ride at £13 ($20 each) and I arrived in Aberystwyth
in time to post this blog, go to the grocery store and sort out
laundry change!

The men were probably still sitting on the platform at 1:27 p.m.,
too manly to ask for directions or help of any kind.