Bras Across the River

Yesterday, in Manchester, NH, one of bridges crossing the Merrimack River was closed to traffic and opened to BRAS! It was for Bras Across the River, a celebration of life for survivors, support for those continuing the fight against breast cancer, and a remembrance of those who succumbed to the disease that strikes 1 in 8 women.

The Write Sisters have skewed those statistics--there are seven of us, and of the seven, three of us have had breast cancer! So, celebrations of life are important!

I attended Bras Across the River, and a few of the photos I took are posted below.

A pink ribbon on which survivors signed their names:


Some of the fabulous sponsors:



Awesome tee-shirts:



Her shirt reads, "Fight like a girl."
Lots of street art by NH Institute of Art students:




And bras, bras, and more bras!









--Diane

If you'd like to see more photos, I'll be posting additional ones on my library blog, Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet, tomorrow.

Poetry Friday--"Poet's work"

This week I've been posting about workers and this poem by Lorine Niedecker is about a job that one never need fear losing!

Poet’s work

Grandfather
   advised me:
          Learn a trade

I learned
   to sit at desk
          and condense

No layoff
   from this
          condensery

I know nothing about Niedecker, so I was happy to find a slideshow of her life here.

Head over to Secrets and Sharing Soda for this week's Round-Up. Isn't that a great name for a blog?

Women of Wednesday--Danger--Women at Work

More today about working women. Here's bit of propaganda from World War II when women were actively encouraged to go out and work. Of course, when the war ended, they were expected to rush back to their lives as housewives, and leave the jobs for the men.

But, while they were allowed to work, the women did a man's job, and everyone worked together to defeat "our enemies."


Film courtesy Internet Archive.

Oooo, I love hearing the line, "Don't be afraid to eat what's good for you," and seeing a huge chunk of cake that would choke a horse!

--Diane

Mentor Monday--Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day! Especially to all the working women of the United States.

Today, in Mentor Monday's post, I'm going through a few of the steps I took to learn more about Lilly Ledbetter (for a imaginary "Women of" profile assignment).

You know never to cite Wikipedia as a source in your bibliography, right? But, Wikipedia is a place to begin for an overview of the subject. A quick read-through and I find that Lilly Ledbetter is the woman who gave her name to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Next I head straight to the bottom of the article for the "References" and "External Links" sections, which are the real starting points.

A simple Google search is all I need to find a ton of explanatory information related to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that was signed by President Obama on Janaury 29, 2009. [I come across a little item of note, that I squirrel away for use as a sidebar if I need it: the Lilly Ledbetter Act was the first major bill that President Obama signed after he took office.]

Generally, I then do a search on one of the book sites, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon, or sometimes I go to the New York Public Library's catalog looking for materials published on the subject. In this case I'm looking for Ledbetter and also the topics of pay discrimination or women in management. I give particular attention to books for children since I will need a "read more about" section at the end of my profile.

Much to my dismay, I find that Ledbetter has an autobiography, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond, but it's not due out until the end of February, 2012!

A search of my public library's on-line databases comes next. Never fail to check your local library's offerings. My library has the EBSCO, Newsbank, and Biography in Context databases to explore.

Speaking of libraries, Ledbetter hails from Alabama, so the Alabama State Library and Alabama Department of Archives and History may be good places to explore virtually. I take a quick look, and find nothing! Ledbetter's not in the Alabama Women's History Hall of Fame since she is still living, nor is she in the Alabama Academy of Honor:

To bestow honor and recognition upon living Alabamians for their outstanding accomplishments and services, the Alabama Academy of Honor was created by the State Legislature on October 29, 1965. Each person elected to membership is a distinguished citizen of Alabama, chosen for accomplishment or service greatly benefitting or reflecting great credit on the State.

One thing I'd particularly like to mention is videos. Don't overlook YouTube and Internet Archive! And, remember that Google has a search category exclusively for videos. Especially for a living subject, videos are a treat. You get to hear the voice of your subject, see what she looks like, and how she carries herself. A lot can be learned!

Even if your subject is long dead, short videos may be available interpreting her work or role in history. For Lilly Ledbetter, I found a great video from Annenberg Classroom, A Call to Act: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. It explains the process that Ledbetter went through in her struggle with pay discrimation, and how all three branches of the U.S. government became involved.

Here's a video of Ledbetter's appearance at a Congressional hearing in 2007:



Lilly Ledbetter's a woman I'm glad to have explored a little more! If I were to write a real profile, I'd spend a lot of time watching/reading through the sources I uncovered. Then, the real work would begin--condensing all the information into 550 words that are both interesting and provide the key points in a life well-lived.

--Diane

Poetry Friday - A Dollop of Dahl

There's nothing like a little Roald Dahl to start off your day and get you in the right frame of mind for the challenges ahead.



Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
by Roald Dahl

As soon as Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma's door.
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, 'May I come in?'
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
'He's going to eat me up!' she cried.
And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big bite.

But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfie wailed, 'That's not enough!
I haven't yet begun to feel
That I have had a decent meal!'
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
'I've got to have a second helping!'
Then added with a frightful leer,
'I'm therefore going to wait right here
Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
Comes home from walking in the wood.'

He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,
(Of course he hadn't eaten those).
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He put on shoes, and after that,
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.
In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She stared. And then she said,

'What great big ears you have, Grandma.'

'All the better to hear you with,'
the Wolf replied.

'What great big eyes you have, Grandma.'
said Little Red Riding Hood.

'All the better to see you with,'
the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I'm going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma,
She's going to taste like caviar.

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, '
But Grandma, what a lovely great big
furry coat you have on.'

'That's wrong!' cried Wolf. 'Have you forgot
To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?
Ah well, no matter what you say,
I'm going to eat you anyway.'

The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature's head,
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.

A few weeks later, in the wood,
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, 'Hello, and do please note
My lovely furry wolfskin coat.'


This week's Poetry Friday is over at The Miss Rumpius Effect where you can gobble up more wonderful goodies.

Art by korann