Sojourner Truth

Have you ever noticed when someone important walked in the room? I'm not referring to the flashy dressed platinum smile plastic person. I am referring to someone who carries within themselves a beauty that is indescribable and not noticeable to the naked eye. These people are great influencers, who see the world in a different light. They see the world outside the box, the glass half full, and may see a different shade of blue in the sky. When they walk in the room, you take notice and perhaps sit up taller, perk your ears wider, and listen to every word. The very tone of their voice rests softly in your soul, and change happens.

Isabella Baumfree, also known by her self given name, “Sojourner Truth”, made change happen. Ms. Baumfree was born into slavery at Swartekill, New York in 1797. In pure bravery, she escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. She became the first black woman to win her son in court against a white man.

In 1851, at a Women's Rights Convention that was being held in Akron, Ohio, Sojourner Truth, delivered a powerful message on racial inequalities titled, Ain't I a Woman. Here is her very speech that still rings a powerful tone - today.

“ Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.”

Sojourner Truth was marvelous, simply because she told it like it is, reminding women that we are special. I don't know about you, but I have sat up and paid attention to her.

- Donna Foute

Dolce Debbie

Dolce Debbie 

Twitter is a powerful tool. I have made amazing connections through business as well as personal because of social networking. Never did I dream I would make wonderful friends in real life as well. A couple of years ago, I started following an interesting lady through my friend Sandra McKenna (@mcmedia) that interesting lady is Executive Chef, Debbie Frangipane, a.k.a Dolce Debbie. Debbie's passion for food inspires you to run to your local market and whip up a masterpiece over a hot pan with the finest ingredients.

Debbie and her husband Barry host luxurious getaways to Italy through Savory Adventures, taking you to the most exquisite destinations. In fact, Barry just published an interesting book titled The Venice Experiment.   To learn more, view this interview! 


Besides being the hottest thing that's cooking in the kitchen, Debbie has many other interests  that include competing in local running events, such as the 2007 and 2008 Disney Marathons. She also competes in the kitchen in local food events, testing her most delectable cuisines against other foodies in the area. 


Debbie has made television appearances on Fox 13 Tampa Bay, WTSP-CBS, and the nationally syndicated Daytime TV show. Debbie's articles have been published in the Tampa Tribune, and she is a featured publisher for Foodbuzz.com. She also has been listed as  one of the top 25 chefs to follow on twitters trendy affiliate WeFollow.  Did I mention that she is a classically trained pianist? 


Debbie is amazing and one to be admired.  One of the best things I love about Debbie, is that she is truly genuine and is one of the nicest people I have ever met. To learn more about Debbie, visit her website at Savory Adventures and follow her on Twitter! 


Salute to you Debbie. You are truly fabulous. 




Donna 

Martha Washington

Martha Washington 

1st Lady of the United States

There are many images of Martha Washington in her later years, we often forget that she was a gorgeous gem when she married George. When George met Martha she was a widow from her prior husband Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter, who was twenty years older when she was just only eighteen. Daniel and Martha had four children, sadly two died very young. Martha's husband Daniel left her to be a widow in 1757. Martha was left with the estate (a very big one). During two years later she was being courted by not only George, but also by a wealthy planter Charles Carter.

George won her heart and they married January 6, 1759. They were 27 in age. Documents report that they were very much in love. Sadly, Martha lost her teenage daughter who died during an epileptic seizure leaving George and Martha was left with one son who was named John, who died during military service in 1781 probably of typhus. George and Martha raised his two children, Eleanor and George. 

Nancy Loane, author of Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment, wrote that Martha was a spiffy dresser, assertive, and definitely a woman of independent means and she was a woman who followed her man. Followed she did. Martha joined her husband George who was leading the fight for freedom in the Revolutionary War. She traveled thousands of miles to be with him, supporting his cause. 

Martha died when she was 70 in 1802. She has been honored in many ways. One honor was that her image was the first image of a woman on the US postage stamp. 

Wanda Austin

Wanda Austin

Petite and poised, Wanda Austin may seem unassuming on the outside, but on the inside she is a tenacious lioness who is willing to stand in the gap and be an advocate for those who are disabled not only physically, but emotionally as well. Wanda lost her vision over 20 years ago due to a disease called retinitis pigmentosa which is a disease where the retina deteriorates over a gradual period of time. 

Many years ago, during an election, she became disgusted that she lost her right to vote privately, as she had to rely on someone else to cast her particular choice. When she got home she thought that someone had to do something about this and that someone was her. She worked with the Supervisor of Elections to come up with a new system so everyone can have a private right to vote. 

Last year in the 2010 elections, her hard work came to pass. She got to cast her first private vote in years on the new system called Automark. Voters are able to listen to the ballot and can select their choice by simple levers. She also helped create an instructional video to teach poll workers how to handle those with disabilities. This video is now shown across the Pinellas County and discusses wheelchairs, seeing-eye dogs, canes, and other aids. 

Wanda decided a long time ago to not let life pass her by. She pursued a Masters Degree and opened her own practice to be an advocate for those emotionally disabled. She graduated with high honors and then served as President of Tampa Chapter, Chi Sigma Iota. 

She has had a few more bumps in the road; beating cancer and going through a divorce after a 39 year marriage, but she attributes her faith - giving her the perseverance to keep going. Wanda encourages those who are hurting and facing their darkest hours, by giving them hope and life skills to manage their difficult situations, both in her private therapy sessions and speaking publicly. She has won numerous awards and hopes to become a published author sometime in the future. 

Wanda Austin is an inspiration for everyone who thinks that their life is over. She is a shining example of the definition of perseverance and I proudly call her Mother.   

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." 

Amazingly brave and sticking to her convictions, Ms. Parks changed America. In her quiet defiance, her actions spoke with such fierceness. This powerful woman with such grace and class, defied the ignorant, and taught America that equality was for all.

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony 

Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations... can never effect a reform. - Susan B. Anthony

Imagine in the early 1800s, slaving over a hot stove, breaking up fights between your children, and keeping after a house without our modern conveniences.  Your husband walks in the door babbling about the current politics. You and your husband would exchange a few ideas (your ideas are brilliant of course) regarding reform, change, taxes, and laws in this very young country. Then you would be disgusted because it wouldn't matter what you thought because you were just a woman. A woman without a right to vote and voice your opinion. 


Susan B. Anthony is the woman to thank. She rallied and campaigned women's right to own property and earnings, and women's labor organizations. Susan also campaigned for the abolition of slavery. 


She was born February 15th, 1812 in Adams, Massachusetts, second to 7 siblings in a Quaker Family. Her father was a cotton manufacture and abolitionist - against the slave trade. Young Susan learned how to read and write by the age of three. They moved to New York when she was six and she enrolled in a local district school. The teacher refused to teach her long division because of her gender. This enraged her father and he immediately put her in a group home school where he taught her himself. Another teacher named Mary Perkins also taught there and was a big influence on progressive image of womanhood, even at this early age.


In 1846 she began teaching at Canajoharie Academy and became the head mistress. She only made $110.00 a year. The men were making 4 times more than the women at that time. This sparked a fire in her to something for equality in wages for women. She was incredibly self conscience of her public speaking and appearance, but she set that aside for the cause. Somebody had to do it. 


She was arrested, ridiculed, threatened, but she pressed on for the cause. This cause benefits all women in America. 

It was 14 years later after Susan died when the 19th Amendment came to pass, giving the women the right to vote. She is honored still with her image on the Susan B. Anthony dollar (a large silver coin a little bigger than a quarter.) So much is to be written about Ms. Anthony and more will surface here on this website later regarding this incredible woman. 

Sandra McKenna

"Getting old is inevitable, but doing it with enthusiasm and passion, that's an option - and that's an option we chose." - Sandra McKenna  

If you are like me, approaching midlife seems to be scary. Not for Sandra McKenna.  In fact she is taking life by the horns and riding that sucker till it drops. Sandi is fulling her bucket list one adventure at a time and is sharing it with the world. She is a Co-Host and Producer of The Midlife Road Trip Show alongside with Rick Griffin (another amazing person!). Click the video below to see a trailer of what the show is about. 

Sandi is a woman of her time, because she doesn't sit back in self pity thinking that her life is over because she is getting older. She is a wonderful example of how all women should be, by living life to the fullest and celebrating each day as a gift. Celebrating life is an understatement of what she has been up to. They have been busy fulfilling their bucket list by skiing in Utah, driving Talladega Speedway, touring NASA,  skydiving, ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, rock climbing, and so much more. 


Also! You can also find Sandi on Twitter under her name @mcmedia. Every Tuesday between 3:30 to 4:30 EST you can catch her and Rick hosting #NUTS (Not so Usual Therapy Sessions), a fun chat session of 10 questions they ask every six minutes that you can answer with a hash tag followed with the word NUTS - (i.e. #NUTS). It is a lot of fun and a great way to meet more interesting and great people to follow. 


Sandi inspires me with her energy and vitality for life, cherishing one day at a time. Most of all, I am honored to call her friend. 

Anne Frank

Anne Frank

I wonder what was going through her mind when she opened her dad's gift on her 13th birthday? Her father bought her a red checkered diary. This became her best friend as she went into hiding along the side of her family during the Holocaust. Faithfully she wrote to "Kitty" her imaginary friend and recorded her young thoughts that streamed from her old soul. Anne Frank with her family lived in hiding for two years from the Nazis under Hitlers command who where hunting Jews to exterminate.

August 4th, 1944 they were betrayed and sent to Auschwitz on September 3rd, 1944. The men and women were separated. This is the last time her father Otto saw his wife and children. Anne and her sister Margot were eventually sent to Bergen-Belsen a concentration camp in Germany where there was little food and full of diseases. Anne and her sister both became ill with typhus in early March and died just days of each other. In just a few weeks later, Russian soldiers liberated the camp. Anne Frank was just 15 years old when she left this earth along with over 1 million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust. Her words still live on to this day through her birthday gift from her father Otto.

What is so honored about this young girl is her thoughts that have touched generations and generations to come. We can  learn to deal with dark times in our lives by Anne Franks example. Here are just a few of her quotes taken from her diary. 

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart." 

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." 

"I live in a crazy time." 

"I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out." 

"I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery, and death. ... I think ... peace and tranquility will return again." 

Ella Fitzgerald

There is so much to say about this incredibly talented lady. I thought it would be best if I didn't write anything but instead let you see for yourself how wonderful she is. (trust me I will be writing a lot about her later)

Clara Barton

Clara Barton 

Clara Harlowe Barton is one of the most fascinating ladies of all time. Perhaps you have been helped by her or know someone who has and it may be possible you have donated money to her great cause. This amazing lady started the Red Cross.  Clara was born on Christmas, December 25, 1821 in Oxford Massachusetts. She was home schooled as a youngest of five children in a middle class family. At the age of 15, she began teaching in school. 

During the Civil War, she learned of many casualties from the First Bull Run, not because of there being a shortage in staff to assist, but because the medical supplies were lacking. Clara saw the need and decided to do something and advertised for donations in the Worchester, Mass,. Spy and began an independent organization to help distribute goods.

She founded the American Red Cross in 1881. In 1904 she resigned as the head of the organization and died in April 12, 1912. The world owes much to Clara. She has touched millions of lives. 

Ms. Barton was a woman of beyond her time. She saw a need and decided to do something about it. 

Eleanor Roosevelt

Elliott  and Anna Hall Roosevelt welcomed Anna Eleanor to the world on October 11, 1884 in New York City. She had two brothers as well as a half brother who was born from a servant of the family. Her family was very wealthy.


Sadly, Eleanor's short life took a sad turn when her mother died of diphtheria when she was eight years old and her father ended up confined to a sanitarium due to his alcoholism then shortly died two years after her mother.Also, her brother Elliott Jr. also died from diphtheria. 


There after, Eleanor's Grandmother took the responsibility and raised her. After private tutoring classes, she was fortunate enough to go to a private finishing school near London where she learned how to speak French and gained self confidence. 


When Eleanor was 17, she met a fifth cousin on her father's side of the family, his name was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He attended Harvard University and was ever handsome and charming. They began courting in 1903 and were engaged to be married in 1905. 
If Eleanor's life wasn't challenging enough, she still had her drama issues. She had to deal with Sara Roosevelt who was her future Mother in Law who was not supportive of her only child getting married to her. In spite of her disapproval, they were wedded on March 17 1905. After their honeymoon in Europe, they began their married life in New York City in a home that had been provided by his mother. 


Her Mother in Law ruled as queen of that castle in their since she continuously reminded the love birds that she provided it for them and they were not free from her until he was elected to the Senate and moved to Albany, New York. Later, in an August summer of 1921, he became very ill with a horrible fever and as a result, he lost the use of his legs due to paralysis
The Roosevelts were blessed with six children, five lived beyond infancy.The Roosevelts had a happy start to their marriage, but Eleanor learned of his affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer.  She learned of this affair due to letters from Lucy that she found in his suitcases.  She told her husband to end the affair or she was getting a divorce. 


The pressure everyone placed on them to stay together was for the children and for the sake of his political career.  Although he had agreed not to see her again, Lucy Mercer began visiting Franklin again in the 1930s and she was even with him at Warm Springs, Georgia when he passed away on April 12, 1945.  (can you imagine?) 


After raising five children and looking after her physically challenged unfaithful husband, something inside of her kept her moving forward. She became very active after her husbands paralysis attack in 1921, Eleanor would serve as a stand in for him and her appearances were very successful.  She began working for the Women's Trade Union League, and she raised funds and supported the goals of the union.  She was involved  in several goals such as a minimum wage, a 48 hour work week, and the abolishment of child labor. This only names just a few of her accomplishments. 

Can you imagine after all the losses this woman has had to face from the loss of her parents at a young age to dealing with the humiliation of a public affair from your husband? Eleanor didn't sit back and have a pity party for herself. She remained a strong independent woman of grace and strength. I have such admiration for her and can only hope to follow in her footsteps and draw from her examples to overcome difficult life challenges. Eleanor continued to keep moving forward regardless of her obstacles.