Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

In most ways, I love being a woman. I can run away from a fight, cry without being called a ?sissy,? dance with other women or wear makeup with no fear of allusion to sexual orientation, be tough when I need to be and ladylike when I want to be. Yes, hear me roar? However, [...]

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Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas is protesting the war in Iraq. As the parishioners stand outside at funerals of U.S. soldiers, they scream loudly of injustice. Trouble is, these protesters aren?t anti-war. What they?re protesting is the defense of a country that allows homosexuals to live relatively free lives. These zealots are of the [...]

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Not to sound like I?m over 30 or anything, but what?s happening with kids these days? I ask that question every time I see children running amok in a public place while their parents stand by and do nothing. I also wonder when a good friend of mine tells me that her 2 year old [...]

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?Stranger than fiction? first brings to mind the Darwin Awards. For those not familiar, the following is a description from the official website (www.darwinawards.com): We salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who remove themselves from it. Of necessity, this honor is generally bestowed posthumously. Each year via email, I receive the [...]

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Well, I just finished watching American Idol, the one show to which I find myself tuning-in each week. I ask myself why I remain so intrigued when in the end, it turns into a popularity contest based on anything and everything BUT singing. The contestants are judged by America, and ultimately rate based on slick [...]

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It?s been said that there are two certainties in life?dying and paying taxes. But, there?s another as proportionately inevitable and almost equally intimidating for many of us. From it, cliches have been coined and songs have been written. “There is no growth without change. No change without loss. And no loss without grief.” Helen Keller [...]

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I just watched the film “Mona Lisa Smile”. It was released a few years ago but for some reason, it’s one I missed. For anyone else it may have eluded, here’s the gist. Circa 1954, a progressive, mid-30ish California woman takes a job as an art teacher at the elite, ultra-conservative, all-girls Wellesley College in [...]

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Okay, so we made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and now, Valentines Day. Hit a few smaller ones along the way too, including Groundhog Day which isn?t officially recognized but fun all the same. Gives us yet another excuse to watch Bill Murray relive the same day over and over again. So what now? [...]

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When I was a little girl, my mother loved to travel. Summer after summer, she led us through explorations of the European countries, to expose us to different cultures as well as to satisfy her own restless heart. Being a child, I appreciated only what my short life and attention spans would allow, much to [...]

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