Rushing's Ramblings

  She was about two hours late to our regional meeting of United Cerebral Palsy Associations in Denver in the mid-'70s. I was in my mid 20's and had begun working for the national organization of UCPA a year before this meeting, a job that took me to numerous cities and small towns in the United States for 11 years. Ann Richards had not been a Travis County Commissioner for very long but had been politically active for years in the Democratic Party. She was a board member of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Texas, hence Ann's attendance at the regional meeting. Her late arrival into the room at 10 AM, did not go unnoticed.   Ann had an undeniable aura that lit up any room she entered. As she sat down next to me, it was immediately apparent that she was intoxicated. However, that didn't deter her.   She knew exactly what was discussed at the meeting and offered many great suggestions. What was more noticeable about her was her humor. I've never been around an...

Life sometimes throws a curveball at you, and you can either face it head-on or let it take you down. There have been many casualties during our Texas Winter War/Weather Apocalypse. I'm one of the minor ones. Early Thursday morning, after taking Paddy for a walk in the tundra of the common area in my development, I gathered snow for the toilets. I hadn't had water in a few days, and the water I had collected was gone. Luckily, I had the coat, gloves, and hat I wore while cruising and hiking in Antarctica nine years ago. I was scooping and turning while bending over from the waist when my 8-month-old artificial hip joint suddenly dislocated, and I found myself writhing in pain flat on my back on top of ice and snow two feet from my back patio. There are 30 townhouses in my development, and only eight families/couples live here full-time. I screamed for help, knowing that at 7:30 AM, no one might hear me. I usually carry my phone, especially while walking on ice and snow, several...

March is  Women's History Month. It's a month when we honor women who've made a difference throughout history. Many were never recognized for their contributions in the past because of their gender or race. All of them paved the way for today's women to choose their path with fewer roadblocks along the way. Yet, it's still a struggle. Women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts for performing the same duties, while compensation for men of color trails behind white women. Women of color receive even less than the groups mentioned above. My experience and many of my female friend's experiences have been that we had to work twice as hard as men doing the same job while making less money. Women are often passed for promotions we should have received because…wait for it, the decision-makers are primarily white males. Most women in today's world have full-time jobs while raising a family. Women have disproportionately lost their jobs during the pan...

There are frequent reminders that our bodies do not match what our brains tell us as we age. Someone once asked, "How old would you be if you didn't know when you were born?" I'd be about 40 because time has passed that quickly, and my mind has not accepted it. That is, until I do something stupid that sidelines me for a while or until health issues interfere with my delusional state. Michele Walker and I were born around the same time. The past two years have been challenging for both of us, yet we believe that when life knocks you down, you get up and go back with gusto as soon as possible. We're both fiercely independent, so accepting even a smidgen of help is tough. Michele's one tough and brave woman. How she maneuvered around with a bum knee on three levels is miraculous. Michele had her knee replaced a couple of years ago and had the equipment to assist in being more independent. One piece of equipment she used was an over-the-commode chair that fits o...

 ( My Winter Texan friends, Nancy, and Dennie Moeller, loaned me Life Magazine's June 1992 issue. The front page of the magazine was entitled “If Women Ran America. How Things Would Be Different in Washington, in the Cities, at Work, and at Home.” They thought it might be of interest to me. It was, indeed.) LIFE magazine’s 1992 editor commented that in 1946, LIFE challenged women to “show normal political gumption” and vote themselves into office. “The American girl is very pretty and smart, too,” they wrote. There’s nothing like condescension to encourage a woman to run for office! By the early ’50s, LIFE was running portraits of the nine “ladies” in the 82nd Congress. In 1962, they ran a story about “How Nice to Be a Pretty Girl and Work in Washington.” Ugh! Germaine Greer was featured on the cover in 1971 and was declared a “Saucy Feminist That Even Men Like.” (There are currently 117 women in the US House of Representatives and 24 women in the US Senate. Unfortunately...

The weather wasn't conducive to an outdoor car show, with only 40 cars in a small town in the middle of Central Texas. Rain and cool temperatures forced us to stay inside the car while people walked by, looking into our 67 Chevy Malibu engine and admiring the car's blue exterior. One could only imagine the memories that the car evoked. I watched an older woman on a cane begin to carefully make her way down the street in front of the cars on display. I took particular notice of her because I still used a cane after dislocating my hip two months ago. As she got closer, I noticed an ileostomy bag full of urine hanging prominently on the lower part of her exposed leg. I beckoned to her as I rolled down my window. A broad smile crossed her face as she approached my window and noticed the two dogs sitting in my lap. A red knit cap covered her hairless head, and her eyebrows were expertly drawn in a soft upside-down semi-circle above vibrant blue eyes. We chatted about the dogs as she...

  As parents, we all wish the best for our children. Of course, when they are grown, we want them to be successful in all their endeavors. But it’s not all about their achievements. “Who” they are matters more than what they do for a living or how many possessions they have acquired. My daughter, Marcy, seems to check all the boxes. She has a rewarding job and is a wonderful mother to two beautiful children. In addition, Marcy has many loyal friends she has stayed connected with for years. One of my proudest moments happened recently. Marcy and her husband were flying to Mexico last week when she observed a young man with headphones standing in line for the toilet. He was traveling with his parents and had yet to hear the announcement that the passengers could not wait in line to use the bathroom due to new security requirements. The young man was an African American in his late teens. A white flight attendant approached him and demanded that he sit down, but he couldn’t hear her...

My grandchildren are simply adorable, no question about it. They own every piece of my heart, which I willingly gave them as soon as they were born. A couple of months ago, Marcy asked if they could stay with me for a week in June at “Camp Grandmama’s.” Even though I enthusiastically agreed at the time, I thought I would have recovered sufficiently after dislocating my hip in February. But, alas, I am still plagued by pain when I walk. It's like a wounded duck; Karma, for the time I made fun of a teacher’s gait in junior high. An added “bonus” was their six-pound Maltese, Enzo, who has a bladder problem and wears diapers inside to prevent him from peeing on the furniture. Enzo has to be taken outside for a walk with my dog, Paddy, at least four times a day. I live in a townhouse and don’t have a fenced yard to let him out. Enzo likes to get out of bed by 6:30 AM and cries until you take him outside, feed him, then take him outside again to poop. He has a small bladder and metaboli...