The hanging suicide of a 42-year old woman went unreported for hours last Wednesday as passers-by assumed that the swaying corpse was a Halloween decoration. The woman had hanged herself on a pretty busy street in the small town of Frederica, DE. - population 3300. The small mention of this ghastly story caught my eye in last Friday’s NYT. A brief search this morning yields no real new information such as the woman’s name. This story is extremely sad and frustrating. In spite of being days from Halloween, I can’t help wondering if local residents just didn’t want to get involved in a such an unusual and frightening spectacle, closing their eyes to what they were really seeing. Every traveller on such a busy street cannot have all assumed that Halloween had come early. Police were apparently called to the scene 3 hours later. 3 hours?!? In the small town that I live in, I like to think that such an uncommon sight as a corpse hanging from a tree would have warranted immediate action. I feel regret for this woman who felt driven to such a desperate act. And how sad that it took so long for someone to act.
How refreshing it is to see a female face on the cover of a national magazine that isn’t ‘O’ or doesn’t cater to women’s health! Superstar golfer Michelle Wie graces the cover of the October 17 issue of Fortune. And-equally refreshing-Fortune’s article on Wie is no puff piece. Reporter Katrina Booker follows Wie around her home stomping grounds of Oahu as she practices her putts, attempts to define her own unique style (read: brand) and clowns around with friends at the Punahou School where, like most of the kids there, 16 year old Wie is thinking about college (Stanford) and stressing about the SATs. Wie is the kind of player that audiences love to watch. 
She is a crowd-drawer who is disciplined (years of coaching by mom and dad who gave up their own golf game to help hers) but exciting. Wie has ‘the guts of a champion’, Booker tells us and we believe it. Her selling power is amazing, bigger than simply a sports figure, and already her new agency, William Morris, is packaging the brand of Michelle Wie. And you better believe that the big guys, like the rest of the world, are watching the amazing Wie. Wie’s coach, David Leadbetter, is helping her prepare to take the men’s golf world by storm. She isn’t easily intimidated by players like Mark Hensby who had said that she didn’t deserve to be at this summer’s John Deere Classic. Her goal isn’t to be the best female golfer; it is to be the best golfer period. Yes! Although she ended up one under par and lost her chance at the British Open, Wie watchers know that she’ll be back. The world will be waiting and watching Wie. You go Girl.
American Girl, manufacturer of a popular line of dolls and also children’s books, has been targeted by conservative groups who threaten a boycott of AG unless the group stops contributions to Girls Inc.- a youth organization that supports abortion rights, reproductive freedom and acceptance of homosexuality. The protest is directed at an ongoing AG campaign inn which proceeds from an ‘I can’ wristband go to support educational empowerment programs of Girls Inc. 
The specific programs that benefit from the ‘I can’ sales are admirable ones that anyone with a brain should support: encouraging athletic skills and team spirit; leadership development; and building skills in math and science. Whether or not you support the empowering values of Girls Inc; we should each stand behind the rights of AG to support the organizations that they choose to, based on their own ideas of right and wrong. I’ve got my wristband. What about you?
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. To remind the public of the ever present dangers of domestic violence, Women’s Support Services of Sharon, CT. held a candlelight vigil 
at the Sharon town green last night. The ceremony began with 2 songs offered by the Hotchkiss and Salisbury Schools gospel choirs followed by a welcome by WSS Director, Judy Sheridan. The one hour program was an emotional one with readings by participants of the circumstances of the 31 deaths as a result of DV in Connecticut for 2004 as well as the story of Margaret Bostrom, a doctor who was killed by her husband, as told by her parents who are now advocates and educators of DV in Connecticut. 1 out of 3 American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend in their lifetime, DV is a very real epidemic in society today, affecting women regardless of race, economic background or education level. With 5.2 million women abused every year, chances are good that you know a woman who is suffering from abuse right now. She may be a sister, teacher, friend, daughter, niece or town leader. She may be you. For help, call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
Southwest Airlines has always been a beacon of customer-centric service. Indeed, Nuts! is a huge tribute to Southwest and chockful of touching stories of how the airline puts people ahead of profits. Maybe they still do this but an article in yesterday’s NYT indicates that Southwest certainly doesn’t put people and their individual rights above the political beliefs of the airline. 
Lumber saleswoman, Lorrie Heasley was forced to leave her Southwest flight for wearing a tee shirt with Bush, Cheney and Rice with a expletive caption which played on the title of the movie, Meet The Fockers. I am NO fan of obscene language but this decision seems clearly political to me. Remember those tasteless ‘not milk’ Monica Lewinsky t-shirts circa 1997? Would wearing that tee have gotten someone thrown off the plane? I doubt it. Ms. Heasley and her husband are curently pusuing a refund for their airfare, rental car, hotel and gas for what turned out to be a 10 hour drive from Reno to their home in Portland. In the meantime since Southwest seems to be unbothered about alientating customers based on political belief, I’ll book my flight from Hartford to Miami on American and plan on wearing my new Texas Homegrown Dope tee-shirt, purchased just for the occasion.
Although cervical cancer kills 270,000 women worldwide annually, only about 3,700 of those women are from the United States. Early detection and prevention comes, in part, from annual PAP smear screening which can detect the cancer in its early stages. Many women outside the United States, especially in the developing world, still do not have access to these tests and so the death rate from cervical cancer for women remains high. Merck’s Gardasil vaccination which was shown to be 100% effective in stopping human papillomavirus strain which causes 70% of cervical cancer. The vaccine will hopefully be approved by the FDA sometime in 2006. Even if approved, controversy remains. Should parents opt to vaccinate their children (as young as 9 or 10) against a future condition which can stem as a result of sexual activity? The answer seems obvious to me: yes. Since the symptoms of HPV can be difficult to detect, the infection can go unnoticed and also be spread easily to others. We teach our children good dental care at an early age, teach the importance of fruits and veggies, encourage exercise and healthy play. Why not take one step further in protecting their future health? Seem like the right dose of preventative medicine to me.
A non-profit program in Charlotte, NC is helping girls get healthy and build self-esteem. Girls on the Run was started in 1996 with only 13 girls and now over 50,000 3rd, 4th and 5th graders will participate this year in the 12 week program. About half the firls who participate in Girls on the Run repeat the program which combines running and self-esteem building activities. 
When girls grow too old for the program, they can go on to participate in Girls on Track. With the dramatic increases in childhood obesity over the past decades, a program like Girls on the Run which serves two serious needs is a real treasure indeed.