President John F. Kennedy and personal secretary Evelyn Lincoln
In her book, Be the Ultimate Assistant, Bonnie Low-Kramen writes, "Here's a fast-paced profession which is highly demanding -- requiring intelligence, resourcefulness, discretion, initiative, computer skills, and last, but not least, consummate people skills. Oh yes, it's also helpful to be clairvoyant!" (p. 32)
White House Official Photo
Former First Lady of the United States Nancy Reagan
1921 - 2016
With the passing of former First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan last week, the nation's attention turned briefly to reflect on the role that America's First Ladies have played in building our country -- a position, I might add, that pays no salary. First Lady Pat Nixon once commented that, "Being first lady is the hardest unpaid job in the world." And President Obama brought up the subject a few years ago, mentioning that First Lady Michelle Obama does not get paid for all her work on behalf of the Executive Branch and the country, especially her work to eliminate childhood obesity and encourage Americans to live healthier lives, which in turn can reduce workplace absenteeism and healthcare costs.
Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel. ~ Bella Abzug, 1977
"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult," said Charlotte Whitton in Canada Month, 1963.
I agree with Charlotte Whitton's famous statement except for the part that it is not difficult! And to phrase the late, great Congresswoman Abzug's statement more delicately, ordinary women should be able to compete with ordinary men for the same jobs without having to outperform at Einstein's level. Women have always been and continue to be held to a different standard than men when vying for the same opportunities. That's not only a lack of equality, it's a lack of fairness.
The 2016 theme of the U.S. National Women's History Month is
Working to Form a More Perfect Union:
Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.
"...it's...a very unique American experience...It's such a great adventure...If the experiment in human living doesn't work in this country, in this age, it's not going to work anywhere."
~ Hillary Rodham, Student Commencement Speech,
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, May 31,1969
“I would argue that right now we have rationed care throughout this country. There are literally millions of Americans who don’t have access to the same quality or quantity of healthcare as millions of others. I heard Dr. Koop say the other day that an uninsured person who enters a hospital with the same problem as an insured person is three times more likely to die than the insured person. And that’s a shocking statistic.”
~ First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Testimony to Congress
on the President’s Healthcare Reform Proposal,
September 28, 1993
"If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be
that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all."
~ First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Remarks to the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing, China
September 5, 1995
The echoes of women's voices throughout history -- or herstory, as some feminists would say with a smile -- include one that resonates today. That is the voice of Hillary Clinton, who has managed to wear more hats in service to her government and various communities than just about anyone in the nation's history -- woman or man. And now she is poised to become the first female Presidential nominee of a major political party. If she succeeds, it will only have taken 240 years for an American woman to accomplish this feat.
Prevention Of and Planning For Getting Sick On Your Wedding Day
Every few years I seem to catch one of these viral gremlins that lays me low. It was bad enough getting sick in my corporate life, but if I had to miss work at least I had a team to back me up and I could usually perform some aspects of my job effectively from home while avoiding the passing on of my germs to my coworkers. But in my current occupation getting sick means I could miss a speaking engagement or running a workshop for a client or a community presentation. And that's exactly what happened; last Saturday I had to cancel an event sponsored by my local library in which my daughter, Lyn, and I were presenting four workshops on job search techniques and skills. My symptoms started on Tuesday with an ominous tickle in my throat and by Thursday they were full blown -- fever, chills, sore throat, aches, cough, congestion, drippiness and laryngitis; even antibiotics and rest couldn't make me well enough by Saturday to stand in front of an audience.
The Three E's and The Wedding Series are taking a brief break. We'll be back next week! Until then, Jeanne
Randolph Caldecott Illustrations
Hey! diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
~ A Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme
About this time in the planning of a wedding, the bride and groom might feel as though eloping might be easier and less frazzle on the nerves. Sometimes the father of the bride, or the parents of the couple in general, suggest half-jokingly at the outset that eloping would be a great idea. It's certainly a simpler and less costly option.
Last Girlfriend Fling Before She Wears A Wedding Ring
Unlike the bachelor party, which has been around for centuries, the bachelorette party is a fairly recent development, in line with the Western world's evolution of women's equality over the last few centuries (although we women still have a long way to go, baby!). And why shouldn't women celebrate their last single days just as men have always done? No reason at all.
The "Jolly Old" Party ~ Chambers's Journal of Literature, Science and Arts, Vol. 59 (1922)
Another age-old custom is that of the bachelor party -- or stag party, as it's called in the U.K., Canada and New Zealand. Dating back to ancient Sparta in the 5th century BCE, a celebration was held to honor the groom on his last night as a single man. As Spartan men were restrained and frugal it can be assumed that such celebrations were quite reserved. As the bachelor party evolved it remained a rather staid, decorous and tame occasion; the men smoked cigars, exchanged anecdotes and toasted the bride in absentia. As civilization approached modern times, the bachelor party unfortunately changed into an occasion for men to behave badly. Here are a few highlights from three recent generations:
When the villagers found out the bride’s father refused
to bestow a dowry on the newlyweds, they came together
and ‘showered’ the couple with gifts
so they could establish a home together.
And thus began the tradition of bridal showers.
~ theamericanwedding.com
The bridal shower is a time-honored affair that began as a very practical occasion to help young couples start their marriage with some essentials for the kitchen, bed and bath. While it's still based in practicality it has evolved into a bonding of friends who wish to show their affection, support and goodwill for the bride and groom. For that reason, the shower is a smaller event consisting of close family and friends. Often it involves only women -- the mothers of the wedding couple and the female attendants, close friends and family members. However, coed showers have also become popular and include the groom, the fathers of the bride and groom and close male friends and family; this is especially likely if the bride's maid of honor happens to be a man of honor. Same sex couples, as well, might have a couples shower or each may have separate brides' showers or grooms' showers with their respective attendants and friends.
Jeanne Nelson 