Pink, It’s Not Just for Girls Anymore

You don’t need a calendar to determine the season. Simply watch the décor at retailers. Pink, yellow and green – it’s April. Red, white and blue – July. Orange and black – October. Green and red – December. And if the Ravens are doing well – its Purple Friday here in Baltimore each week in January.

In recent years, pink has replaced orange in October, for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Store windows, publications and numerous products, sport pink ribbons or new pink packaging to raise money and awareness.

Pink controversy has arisen with one non-profit’s sale of pink cancer awareness bracelets reading: “I love Boobies.” Designed to raise teen awareness of Breast Cancer and spark conversation, these bracelets are popping up in middle schools and high schools across the country. The campaign is working, but the conversation is not. Schools are banning them and civil rights activists are rallying.

Teenage boys, in many schools, outnumber teenage girls wearing the “I love Boobies” bracelets. Do some have other motives?
Of course they do, they’re teenagers. That is to be expected.
Take the conversation off the words and onto the topic. Breast Cancer kills over 40,000 women each year – mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, neighbors.

I urge school administrators to keep talking, but talk about early detection, treatment and research, not about dress codes and foul language. Boobies, breasts, bust, bosom – these are not dirty words. I say let the boys wear bracelets!

Privacy Stays Grounded at Take-off

The proximity of fellow travelers on an airplane can invite the uninvited, not only into your personal space, but also into your life.

I tend to be a loner on a plane. I read a book, watch the in-flight movie or take a nap, rarely initiating small talk with my neighbor inches away. A gentleman seated at my left elbow once shared his penchant for Sudoku. Confessing he wasn’t very good at it, he proceeded to give me “helpful tips” as I quietly worked my puzzle. Thanks, I think.

When there’s little turbulence, I like to pop down the seat-tray and play Solitaire. Eyes routinely wander over and folks just can’t help but chime in with strategy points. Solitaire is a singular game, by definition, one might think. Not true, when quarters are close.

I’m flying to Denver tomorrow, Los Angeles and Rochester later this fall. I’ll be bringing a deck of cards, Sudoku and a new book to read. Everyone keeps telling me to buy a Kindle, but I’m afraid I’ll find my neighbors reading along. A gal needs a little privacy every now and then, even on an airplane.