If you’ve wondered “whatever happened to blonde but smart bombshell actress Kathleen Turner” let me tell you she’s alive and well.  My friend Claire Gimble and I spent

Kathleen Turner was in town and feisty as ever at her talk at the National Press Club on Sept. 6. Left to right: me, Kathleen Turner, Claire Gimble.

a few minutes with her at the reception before her luncheon talk at the National Press Club on Sept 6.  Feisty and genuinely interested in meeting and talking with folks, Turner makes you feel okay to be a woman today of a “certain age.”  That feeling that with age comes a new freedom is driven home when you meet her.  She says she’s always been opinionated and assertive – since she was 12 in fact.  But instead of this state of being working against your own opinion of HER, it just makes her all the more charming.  Now just shy of 60 – but who’s counting anyway – Turner was able to share with those of us at the Press Club because she’s in town for a while  appearing in “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins,” a play about the legendary liberal Texas columnist, which runs through October 23 at Arena Stage.

Kathleen Turner shares some advice with me.

The focus of her talk at the National Press Club was the GOP’s stand on women’s reproductive rights and Planned Parenthood in particular. Turner criticized the Republican Party for its archaic views and noted the importance of keeping contraception available for American families.  She said she was afraid for women, families and the now eight decades-old women’s services organization if Mitt Romney is elected. Funny and unedited, Kathleen is perhaps the best person I know to battle those who would want to see American women barefoot and pregnant. Asked if she herself would consider running for office to help improve the numbers of women in Congress – currently only 17% – she replied she still thought her best contribution was as an actress and everyday citizen.

Still one very pretty woman, Kathleen Turner turned out to be warm and genuinely interested in meeting us.

Whoever wins in November – not just the presidential race, but the House and Senate as well – look out!  Today Kathleen Turner is more likely to throw verbal stones against those who would deny women’s rights, than she is to romancing a stone.

   Last year we braved a cold wind and overcast skies to hold our annual Family Fun Walk for the Gum Spring Library.  But, this year, we got a big reprieve.

There was something for everyone at the 3rd annual FROGS Family Fun Walk on April 21, 2012 for the new Gum Spring Library!

   The storm that would dump several inches just to the north of us, and plow us into 48 hours of (needed) rain, mercifully held off just long enough for the FROGS (Friends of the Gum Spring Library) to enjoy a beautiful day for our 3rd annual event.

Walkers and participants in the 3rd Annual "FROGS" Family Fun Walk enjoyed great weather.

Every year walkers get a t-shirt, a goodie bag stuffed with items from local businesses, fruit, snacks and water.  The moon bounce is always popular and the participants are happy to wait in line for  chance to get their faces expertly painted by our “face artist.”   This year, we even had LIVE entertainment provided by Bach 2 Rock!

Another successful Family Fun Walk for the Gum Spring Library.

    We can’t wait until NEXT year when the library will be open and we can all retire to the stacks after our stride through the neighborhood.

We had a looooong line of walkers! It was quite a sight!

Some of Deb’s random thoughts on creating a Successful Community Event:

• PLAN, PLAN, PLAN way in advance.  The FROGS start working on their April Family Fun Walk event in December!

• Look into what licenses may be needed as far in advance as possible so there are no last-minute surprises that could squash your event
  
  

  Everybody waited patiently for face painting!

• Break down the event into specific tasks and then assign those tasks to reliable people.  Call those people 48 hours beforehand to

make sure they can still carry out their assignments. 

• If you don’t provide specifics for completing a task in advance, don’t nag about  how that task is achieved after the fact.  Volunteers don’t appreciate micro-managing when its too late.  Instead, make a note on how that task should be achieved  for  whoever gets that task next year.    

• Have good signage.  There are always regulations on signage in any community.  Just find out what the those regulations are and do the best you can. (exploit the loopholes if necessary on the day of event, and just take down the signs immediately afterward.)  

Arcola Fire Department Volunteers.

• Take advantage of as many area newsletters, magazines,  newspaper listings and area cable TV listings as possible to get the word out about your event.  

• And make sure you create and utilize an email invitation list of everyone you know.  If you provide a way for the reader to opt out of future emails, they generally will not object and usually will not opt out.

• Don’t forget clean-up.  Leave the area the way you found it.

• Have a post-event de-brief.  Take good notes and keep those notes where they can be pulled out for the next event and read again.

• Think of as many ways as possible to THANK YOUR SPONSORS – that is, only if you want them back next time!

Everybody was in a great mood and enjoyed the event.

And, speaking of sponsors, we’d like to thank those that supported our 2012 Family Fun Walk:

•    East Gate Orthodontics - www.eastgateorthodontics.com
•    HCA Healthcare - www.hcahealthcare.com
•    Stone Ridge Orthodontics - www.smilestoneridge.com
•    Van Metre Homes - www.vanmetrehomes.com
•    Snap Fitness - www.snapfitness.com/stoneridge
•    Kravitz Orthodontics - www.kravitzorthodontics.com
•    Inova Loudoun Hospital - www.inova.org
•    Concept Marketing, Inc. - www.cptmkt.com
•    Aldie Vet - www.aldievet.com 
•    Montessori of Chantilly, Casa dei Bambini - www.montessoriofchantilly.com
•    Curry’s Auto - www.currysauto.com
•    Mathnasium - www.mathnasium.com/stoneridge
•    Family Veterinary Hospital of Stone Ridge
•    Family and Aesthetic Dentistry of South Riding

 

(Note:  This is a private blog. Of course, the comments herein are those of Deborah Deal’s and do not reflect or represent any other member of the Friends of the Gum Spring Library or the Loudoun County library system. All photos copyright 2012 Deborah A. Deal.)

A FROG board member thinks he really IS turning into a Frog now! He's practicing his frog pounce position.

Always have lots of balloons for a Family event.

 

       

Face painting is sometimes even better on something other than the face!

                       

                        

I'd rather have what you're having!

 

 

Today is International Women’s Day.  We hope you’ll take a moment to consider the role that women play in society and the vast injustices that are still carried out against half the planet’s population.  We’ve posted here some sites you may find of interest …

To read about the history of International Women’s Day, we suggest you visit this site:  http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp    Note: due to high traffic on this particular site, it may take a while to open ….        

For a great article on women’s entrepreneurship, read this piece:   Unleashing Women’s Economic Potential

For an interesting editorial in the U.K.’s Telegraph today, CLICK HERE.

To mark International Women’s Day, UNESCO and the UIS have jointly released the World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education, which includes over 120 maps, charts and tables featuring a wide range of sex-disaggregated indicators.  The vivid presentation of information and analysis calls attention to persistent gender disparities and the need for greater focus on girls’ education as a human right.  The atlas illustrates the educational pathways of girls and boys and the changes in gender disparities over time. It hones in on the gender impact of critical factors such as national wealth, geographic location, investment in education, and fields of study.

The United Nations’ web site section on the Global Issues on Women is:  HERE

Can’t think of something appropriate or memorable to give the person who has everything this holiday season?  How about getting THEM nothing?                                      

HEIFER and OXFAM offer great Christmas gifts for your friends and family that will help those who really need it.

Instead …

Get someone in need something that THEY REALLY NEED …

Like a a flock of ducks or geese for $20, a water buffalo for $250, a camel for $850.

The following are just two of our favorite organizations that my family has “purchased gifts” (practical donations) from in past Christmases.

Heifer International –   www.heifer.org

Oxfam America - www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com 

Its simple (and actually fun) to make these donations to a needy family, village or individual …Will you get Uncle Lee the gift of mosquito nets to keep a family in Africa from getting malaria?  Or get your nephew Connor a water pump for a village in Haiti?  You choose from a variety of gifts online, put them in your cart just as you would with any online retailer, and pay for them as you would anywhere.

After completing the checkout process, you will have the opportunity to create personalized cards to tell your friends and family that you have honored them with a gift to people in need.

It's fun selecting a gift from Oxfam, Heifer and similar charities that exemplify the Christmas theme of "Peace on Earth"

You feel good.  The person you needed to buy a present for feels good.  And the needy actual recipient living in poverty gets something essential that could mean the difference between life and death.  Make a donation to a worthy charity in this fun and unique way and forget the soap-on-a-rope.

This Christmas and/or Hannukah, leave a lasting impression not only on the recipient’s soul, but yours as well.

Helping someone in need – now that’s important for a Romance Renaissance!