One Million Women

On

Wednesday,

October 22,

there was an all-day

live webcast of The Women's Conference 2008 on http://www.californiawomen.org/. Live blogging coverage was also provided for all conversation sessions. Speakers included Christiane Amanpour, Madeline K. Albright, Cecilia Maria Attias, Cherie Blair, Cerue Konah Garlo, Sister Joan Chittister, First Lady Maria Shriver, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Indra Nooyi, Campbell Brown, Warren Buffett, Chris Matthews and Bono. Click here to view the sessions.

Empowering women, of all ages, at home and all over the world.

--d.d. dawg

It's My Life

Bon Jovi sings about it. Life. Well, this is my new life. Book fairs and conventions. And oddly enough, I love it!

Not so much the concrete floors, which are hard on WOOFer feet and legs. But I love, love, love meeting new people!

Who knew a writer could come out of her shell and enjoy interacting with people...instead of putting words on paper (or computer), forming words in her mouth and speaking them. Maybe it's the instant gratification thing.

I don't know, but it has quickly become one of my favorite things. People are fascinating and basically share the same needs and wants. Who knew?

And sometimes they actually buy a book or two.

Sweeeet.
---d.d. dawg

Dewey Readmore Books

Must admit...I’m a dog person. But one special yellow cat stole my heart on CBS Sunday Morning.

Dewey Readmore Books was the resident cat at Spencer Public Library, Spencer Iowa after a heartless soul dropped him into the library book return one cold January night in 1988.

Library director, Vicki Myron, a single mother also in a struggle to get back on her feet after a series of tragedies, found him the next morning, hoarse from crying and suffering from frostbite. He stole the hearts of the staff when, despite his discomfort, nudged each one of them in a gesture of thanks. Their decision to adopt him was rewarded by 19 years of loyalty.

A contest was held to pick a name, and Dewey (named after Melvil Dewey of Dewey Decimal System fame) Readmore Books was officially added to the staff. Patrons and friends donated pop cans and money, from as far away as New York, to pay for Dewey's food.

Don’t get me wrong. Dewey was no charity case. As an official library staff member, he had his own job description:

*Reducing stress for all humans who pay attention to him.
*Sitting by the front door every morning at 9:00 am to greet the public as they enter the library.
*Sampling all boxes that enter the library for security problems and comfort level.
*Attending all meetings in the Round Room as official library ambassador.
*Providing comic relief for staff and visitors whenever possible.
*Climbing in book bags and briefcases while patrons are studying or trying to retrieve needed papers underneath him.
*Generating free national and world-wide publicity for Spencer Public Library. (This entails sitting still for photographs, smiling for the camera, and generally being cute.)
*Working toward status as world’s most finicky cat by refusing all but the most expensive, delectable foods—and even turning up his nose at those most of the time.

To read more about Dewey, his incredible journey and lifetime of love, visit:
Spencer Public Library

Milkbone (Mary Cunningham)

Dogs Rule!

Dancing dogs. One joyful dog with only two left legs. The tiniest dog. Footage of the largest dog. A dog who does math problems—without a calculator. A Golden Retriever who nurses tiger cubs. A dog, rescued hours before he was to be put down, doing “handstands” for Oprah.

Pretty doggone amazing. WOOFers sure picked great role models. Even though there are those in the canine community who come to an untimely end, through no fault of their own. But right now that’s not the intent of this post.

This post celebrates people who stand up for animal rights. Folks, like the caregivers at Angel Gate who believe in nurturing animals disabled from neglect or abuse by focusing on what they can do. Not on what they can’t.

Oh, and how do the dogs in their care respond to that kind of treatment? Come here. Let me lick your nose, and I’ll show you.

d.d. dawg (Diana)

SHRINK TO FIT

I recently saw the movie, The Women, and was struck by a conversation two characters had concerning the fact that women often “shrink to fit” their mates.

Since we are generally, by nature, “people pleasers,” I think most of us often give up a lot-- or give in too much-- in many of our relationships. We start by trying to be the daughter we think we are supposed to be, adjust to blend into our husband’s life and schedule, and make major “shrink to fit” sacrifices when we have children.

I think that is one of the many advantages of being over 50. Most of us have more freedom now, and no longer have to “shrink to fit” anyone. Not that we don’t always want to try to please others, as well as practice compromise in our relationships. It is just that, in our middle years, we can embrace just being who we are. We can spread our wings to their fullest span and fly! Nothing is there to hold us back.

Hopefully, we learned things like patience, persistence and appreciation for the world around us during our “shrink to fit” days. So when we do get that chance to fly, we take our time, sail through the currents, and soar higher than we could have in our younger years. And that is when we realize that the view is so much more spectacular when you have waited a while to see it.

Melinda--"Mad Dog"