In keeping with my theme of celebrating strong women, I want to acknowledge the birthday of Althea Gibson. An American tennis player and professional golfer, she was born in South Carolina on August 25, 1927 and was the first black athlete of either gender to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956 she became the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title. Wikipedia
 |
| Courtesy of the Womenscouncil.org |
WHAT I’M READING: Live Free or Die by Max Gordon for review this next Sunday. It just happens to have a strong female protagonist, and the way she’s introduced in the opening scene makes her very real and memorable.
WHAT I’M LAUGHING AT: Myself. I reached into the bathroom cabinet for the hair spray this morning and grabbed the wrong bottle.
WHAT I’M DISMAYED ABOUT: The ongoing genocide in Iraq. Romeo Dallaire, who was the United Nations Force commander for the U.N. Assistance Mission to Rwanda in 1994, wrote an article that first appeared in The Washington Post and was published yesterday in The Dallas Morning News that expressed his concerns over the parallel between what happened there and what is happening now in Iraq. “Children are being used as fighters and weapons of war. And still, the world does little to stop it.”
Children are also targets of the violence as the Islamic State forces attack markets, cafes, schools, places of worship and playgrounds. The long-range impact of what is happening to these children on both sides of the battleground is tremendous, not just measured in loss of life, but the emotional and psychological damage as well. For more on the subject, Dallaire’s article is well worth the read.
I also have to add that I am dismayed about Governor Good Hair, that’s Rick Perry for those of you not familiar with his nickname. My son in Austin says most people call him that. Anyway, he says he is not going to run for president in 2016, yet where was he this past Tuesday? In New Hampshire. Isn’t that one of the states potential candidates visit to test the political waters?
During the demonstrations in Ferguson, MO this past Wednesday, protestors were chanting, “Time to kill a cop.” How sad. More violence is not going to bring back that young man who was shot.
AND NOW JUST FOR FUN: This is from the comic strip, Shoe. Roz is serving coffee to her friend, Doreen and says, “You know, Doreen. After all these years I still have a photgraphic memory.”
In the next panel Roz says, “Sigh! I just don’t have same-day processing any more.”
And this from Zits: Mom and Dad are carrying picnic items into a clearing in the woods. Jeremy is carrying several electronic devices under one arm, with the plugs in his other hand. He says, “What kind of stupid place is this for a picnic??”