yobech505

To Sally

One of the things my mother instilled in me as a young person was to respect those who deserved respect.  She called them my elders.  But it wasn’t just senior citizens. The way I interpreted it was not gender specific.  I just respected my elders.  Female, male, it didn’t matter.

The first job I got on my own, my supervisor was Barbara Smith.  Then it was Carolyn Rennie.  Both women were fair, capable, honest and hard working.  My favorite teacher in middle school was Mrs. Lazzarini because she knew so much about history.  My grandmother Lucille on my mother’s side was an independent woman who lived all over the world and travelled from continent to continent on small commercial steamers as a passenger.  Her stories, like travelling in an open cockpit mail plane to make a connecting train, fascinated me.  Women who deserved respect were the women I was influenced by

I was never able to create in my mind, a difference between the genders when it came to what a person was worth and how much respect they deserved.

On June 18, 1983, I watched with fascination when the Challenger flew into space.  I had seen shuttles go before, but this one I watched, and followed.  On board was the first American female astronaut, Sally Ride.  I followed STS 7 for six days.  I watched all the videos and especially the one where she walked out of the Challenger, waving, with a smile as big as the Pacific on her face.

The pride I felt that day still brings a sense of wonder to my insides.

Sally Ride lost her 17 month battle with cancer yesterday.

The emotion that filled my heart, the sadness that lingers, will not go away any time soon.  When I began  my facebook page five years ago, she was one the people I admired the most.

I look at our country today.  I look at the world.  I wonder.  I listen to the youth talk about their favorite actor, their favorite musician, the professional athletes, the people they idolize.  Even the television show, American Idol, is not about a hero, it’s about a singer.

They have it wrong, and it needs to change.

The aforementioned are entertainers.  They contribute little or nothing to the bettering of our society.  They don’t deserve the attention, the salary, the idolization that our society gives them. Yet, look what they get .  Why?  Every major network has a period of time dedicated to entertainers.  We know about their private lives, their dysfunctional families, and their naughty behavior.  Yet they have only one job.  To entertain us.

Who cares!  And if you do care, why?  It makes NO sense.

How many Americans know that on September 11^th, 2001, passenger Todd Beamer kept terrorists from flying a plane into the White House. Who remembers Batallion Chief James Anato who gave his life in New York that day? What about his family?

Sally Ride was a true hero.  She was self made, a genuine adventuress.  She didn’t act it, she lived it.  She didn’t play the part, she was the part.  Intelligent, dynamic, capable, she is the one the youth of this country should be idolizing.  Where others pretend, she was real.   Where others are in it for fame and fortune, her goal was so much more than just to advance science.  She took on a man’s world and proved herself at least equal, but in many ways, superior.

For me, there was more to her than that.  To confess, I had a crush on her.  I wanted to meet her, get her autograph, give her a hug and say thank you for being the incredible person that you are. Her strength as a human being gave her an aura of sexuality; it made her beautiful in a way that no super model, no music video queen, no actress could  touch.  It was, in a way, indescribable,   I never got that chance, but this genuine American Idol will always be in my heart.

I love you Sally Ride.  May America never forget.