"When there are no ceilings, the sky is the limit."
---Hillary R. Clinton
I was lucky enough to be raised by parents who encouraged me to believe in myself and follow my dreams. They supported me when I wanted to go to nursing school and helped me change schools when I realized that teaching was my real goal. Of course neither of those goals challenged my folks, because they were both "girls professions."
I like to think that they would have supported a goal of architect or engineer, but I am not sure. In those days girls were teachers, nurses or secretaries until they became wives and mothers.
I was lucky again to marry a man who is as mystified as I am when he encounters the blatant sexism that still prevails in our world today. When we became parents though, he expected me to be a stay-at-home mom like his own mom was, and I tried to oblige for a while. After a few years of facing dirty dishes, dirty laundry and dirty floors, I desperately started perusing the want ads for a part time job. I became a book reviewer, and loved the few hours a week that I spent in front of large crowds as I shared the stories behind my favorite books and authors. Mike and Beth loved their few hours a day in preschool, and all was well.
We tried to raise both children in a world where there were infinite possibilities for either of them. Beth is a natural born teacher (perhaps it is in the genes) and is making a difference in many lives, but it is a profession of her choice, not one she was molded to fit. Life has changed and women are popping up in all fields, from doctors to construction workers, there are no closed doors. Unfortunately, sexism is still alive and well in the United States though, and women are paid considerably less for the same job than their male counterparts.
Even in the current Olympic Games, we watch husbands being credited with their wives' successes, while those actually claiming the medal become the secondary story. We are watching women being blamed for crimes against them because their skirts are too short or their blouses too tight. College women who drink too much are simply courting trouble, while their male counterparts are having good old fashioned fraternity fun. Judges are sympathetic to college rapist and are reluctant to have them serve jail time. After all, time in jail for this "twenty minutes of action" might destroy a young man's life. Perhaps the unconscious victim's life should count too, when we measure whose drinking led to the more heinous crime.
Yes, woman throughout the country, democrat, republican or independent should appreciate Hillary Clinton for fighting the battle to break through another glass ceiling. You don't have to vote for her, but you should thank her for showing your daughters and sons that women are as strong and capable as men in every way possible, and any girl can grow up to be President.
Speaking of our sons and daughters, Moore Zombies: Happy Kamper by Wendy Knuth (author) Sudipta Dasgupta (illustrator) is a cute (if a bit weird) story of a family of Zombies who go on a camping trip. The illustrations are great and the story is a simple one that is chock full of life lessons.
The second book that I reviewed this week, Judgment Cometh: (And That Right Soon) by Scott Pratt is another in his Joe Dillard series. Although it is definitely a bit heavier than most in this series, it tells an interesting story and keeps the reader coming back for more. Pratt makes the reader feel every pain that Joe feels and experience each of his successes, and I believe that is the mark of a great author.
As always, full reviews of both books will follow this blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
---Hillary R. Clinton
I was lucky enough to be raised by parents who encouraged me to believe in myself and follow my dreams. They supported me when I wanted to go to nursing school and helped me change schools when I realized that teaching was my real goal. Of course neither of those goals challenged my folks, because they were both "girls professions."
I like to think that they would have supported a goal of architect or engineer, but I am not sure. In those days girls were teachers, nurses or secretaries until they became wives and mothers.
I was lucky again to marry a man who is as mystified as I am when he encounters the blatant sexism that still prevails in our world today. When we became parents though, he expected me to be a stay-at-home mom like his own mom was, and I tried to oblige for a while. After a few years of facing dirty dishes, dirty laundry and dirty floors, I desperately started perusing the want ads for a part time job. I became a book reviewer, and loved the few hours a week that I spent in front of large crowds as I shared the stories behind my favorite books and authors. Mike and Beth loved their few hours a day in preschool, and all was well.
We tried to raise both children in a world where there were infinite possibilities for either of them. Beth is a natural born teacher (perhaps it is in the genes) and is making a difference in many lives, but it is a profession of her choice, not one she was molded to fit. Life has changed and women are popping up in all fields, from doctors to construction workers, there are no closed doors. Unfortunately, sexism is still alive and well in the United States though, and women are paid considerably less for the same job than their male counterparts.
Even in the current Olympic Games, we watch husbands being credited with their wives' successes, while those actually claiming the medal become the secondary story. We are watching women being blamed for crimes against them because their skirts are too short or their blouses too tight. College women who drink too much are simply courting trouble, while their male counterparts are having good old fashioned fraternity fun. Judges are sympathetic to college rapist and are reluctant to have them serve jail time. After all, time in jail for this "twenty minutes of action" might destroy a young man's life. Perhaps the unconscious victim's life should count too, when we measure whose drinking led to the more heinous crime.
Yes, woman throughout the country, democrat, republican or independent should appreciate Hillary Clinton for fighting the battle to break through another glass ceiling. You don't have to vote for her, but you should thank her for showing your daughters and sons that women are as strong and capable as men in every way possible, and any girl can grow up to be President.
Speaking of our sons and daughters, Moore Zombies: Happy Kamper by Wendy Knuth (author) Sudipta Dasgupta (illustrator) is a cute (if a bit weird) story of a family of Zombies who go on a camping trip. The illustrations are great and the story is a simple one that is chock full of life lessons.
The second book that I reviewed this week, Judgment Cometh: (And That Right Soon) by Scott Pratt is another in his Joe Dillard series. Although it is definitely a bit heavier than most in this series, it tells an interesting story and keeps the reader coming back for more. Pratt makes the reader feel every pain that Joe feels and experience each of his successes, and I believe that is the mark of a great author.
As always, full reviews of both books will follow this blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
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