On My Mind: Amazing Women Everywhere

I just pulled up the Yahoo home page on my computer with all of its top news stories. What I have found is that when I haven’t made it to the grocery store where I can stand in line at checkout and catch up on what’s happening in the world via the tabloids, this is a really good way to do it. Just a few moments ago I was able to scope:

Kanye West at the Grammys (just go away and be quiet)

The Bachelor contestants (and, why are they news?)

Kim Kardashian’s everything all the time and more (crying “uncle” – please, I beg you, no more)

Bruce Jenner’s journey (almost like a circus)

Victoria Beckham’s outfit (that’s news?)

Rihanna and Leo are over (didn’t even know they were an item)

Most of the time, I just pull up the page and go into whatever I need; however, sometimes I’m in awe. This is what many people read or watch all the time whether on Yahoo, in the tabloids and magazines, or on the TV tabloids. And, the faces are known by many – because we seen them and hear about them… ALL THE TIME.

It made me think of all the amazing women that are doing great things on a regular basis, yet, they have no personal branding coach or PR person, so they are virtually unknown. And, that’s ok with them. They are who they are and they do what they do not to be well known and have paparazzi chasing after them. They do amazing things because they want to – because it feeds their souls and because it’s their journey. They end up inspiring those who become aware of them or those whose lives they touch on a regular basis, but fame isn’t what drives them.

When I lived in Baltimore, I was fortunate to be able to support and do some work with the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, the first comprehensive state center of its kind in the nation – honoring women of all ages, both historical and contemporary – the renowned and the unsung heroines.

I always loved the idea of celebrating the Unsung Heroine because she is everywhere – not just in Maryland. Here is how she is described on the MWHC website:

“Beyond the “notable” Maryland women are the unsung heroines—your mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, daughter, neighbor, and friend. Their partnership in building our communities and strength in building our families has often gone unrecognized and unpraised. Yet without each “heroine” there would have been no state of Maryland – no country – no America. She kept us warm, she fed and clothed us; she encouraged us and listened to our joys and our woes; and unfailingly she recognized our accomplishments, no matter how large or small.

She has always been strong, individually and collectively. Her number is legion and her faces many – from the Indian woman teaching pride to her children, to Rosie the Riveter working in our factories, to the contemporary woman sustaining her religious and community organizations. She is many colors, shapes, sizes, cultures and philosophies. She is young and she is old, sophisticated and homespun. She is the mountain woman and the farm woman and the woman inhabiting the tidewaters of Chesapeake Bay. She scrubbed the steps of Baltimore and fed the poor family down the block, and she chaired the committees of a thousand worthy causes.

She rose at dawn and worked till long after dark, – tending her vegetable garden, raising chickens and pigs, milking cows, spinning wool and making bread, soap and candles. Often the only way a woman could hope to fight a disease like smallpox or rheumatic fever lay in constant, vigilant nursing – around the clock – and those she saved pay a silent tribute to her tireless attendance.

She has been an athlete, domestic worker, scientist, artist, elected official and adventurer. She has been nurturing and creative, sensitive and strong. She has been the anonymous poet, economist, architect and military strategist. She has preserved and transmitted our diverse heritages. She has fought to improve her community in battles that ranged from better sanitation to building schools. She has been in the forefront of every struggle for human dignity and civil rights. She has typed the letters, sewn the banners and marched in the streets. Her volunteer work has kept our hospitals running, her employment has kept our families afloat.

She has reached and grown, despite the obstacles, and has challenged each new generation. She combines roles as friend, mother, or wife with doctor, auto mechanic, teacher, seamstress, psychologist, chauffeur, coach, and financial planner.

The unsung heroine historically has sustained, and continues to sustain, her family and community. She has reached and grown despite the obstacles, and has challenged each new generation. The unsung heroine forges a positive path for all who follow and carry on her work.”

[“Maryland’s unsung heroines were first defined in the book, Notable Maryland Women, by Winifred Helmes. This description was adapted somewhat for today’s realities and was published in Women of Achievement in Maryland History, written by Carolyn Stegman, a member of the MWHC Board of Directors, and initiated by Frances Hughes Glendening, MWHC President.”]

Why, just this week, I’ve been amazed at some of these women – not well known, but making a difference and providing inspiration and hope to those who know about them:

Laxmi Aggarwal, who according to A Mighty Girl, “was just 16 when a 32-year-old man attacked her with acid after she rejected his marriage proposal. For years Laxmi hid her face, but after India exploded in outrage over a brutal gang rape on a bus two years ago, she discarded her veil and joined the growing effort to stop acid attacks and other abuse against women. The 24-year-old has since become one of India’s leading activists on the issue and, last March, she was presented an International Women of Courage Award in Washington DC by First Lady Michelle Obama.”

Just like Malala, she is turning an injustice done toward her into her life passion to help others.

And on a lighter note, check out Dorothy Myer of South Burlington Vermont. I first became aware of Dorothy when I joined the Vermont 251 Club that I talked about in my last posting, which is a guiding plan to help those who want to travel the state of Vermont and check out 251 towns – the people and the sights. Well, if I thought I had any excuses for not starting on this excursion – which I am definitely looking forward to – Dorothy shattered them all. According to the 251 Club:

“Octogenarian Dorothy Myer has never owned a car and she has yet to find a need for one. For the past 78 years Dorothy has ridden her bicycle – at first for pleasure and exercise – and later in life to college (from Connecticut to Vermont); to work at the University of Vermont (for 34 years); to the grocery store, post office and church; to visit her family in Connecticut; and to travel around New England and Canada for summer vacations. When she retired at age 67, Dorothy decided to join the 251 Club and pay a cycling call on each of Vermont’s towns and cities. Over the next seven years, she pedaled 4,078 dedicated miles to complete her 251 quest with a final steep climb and subsequent downhill coast into the town of Washington.

Dorothy spent more than half of her time on the road alone before sharing 251 explorations with her college friend, Lindy Millington of Burlington, who is three years younger. Along the way, she enjoyed meeting other bicyclists, chatting with ‘some of the friendliest people in Vermont who run the general stores,’ and being pleasantly surprised by how many small towns have libraries and historical societies. Dorothy also enjoyed her overnight stays at B&Bs and visiting with hosts who told her how to find the local swimming hole or waterfall, where to take a day hike, or which route out of town is the least hilly.

The petite 86-year old cyclist now averages 40 miles a day exploring Vermont and (because she likes her exercise) will often go out for 20-mile weekend rides around Burlington where she is recognized as The Bicycle Lady.”

Two very different Unsung Heroines – and both of them are great and inspirational. These two women alone make me want to forget all about what’s on Yahoo’s front page as “news” and be on the lookout for more women like Laxmi and Dorothy. Everyday, amazing women.

I bet you know some. The chances are good that you’re one of them, too.