San Antonio is one of the largest metroplexes in the U.S.A., yet most residents there have no idea it sits within one of the nation’s busiest sex trafficking regions. Not only San Antonio, but Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well. In fact, much of the I-35 corridor. But nurse educator Laurie Charles does. In fact,…
In the traditional Catholic French Creole ways of pre-civil New Orleans, most young women did as their mothers taught them. The expectations were clear. Look your very best and find a suitable husband. But not Henriette Diaz DeLille. Henriette was born in 1813. She was considered an octaroon, her mother was a quadroon, which is…
Imagine you are a brilliant little Black girl and your Mama is wanting you to go to an upper echelon private school. Mostly white. Latanja’s Mama was at the ironing board making sure her uniform looked just right. No wrinkles allowed. She checked Latanja’s braids one more time, no nappy strays allowed. Latanja quickly…
June Phillips never met a stranger in her life. Her attribute as the penultimate people person made her one of the most successful women’s wardrobe mavens in Fort Worth, Texas. If one needed the perfect outfit, you called upon June. June loved to work. Her career in women’s wear sales spanned over sixty years in…
It’s the doorbell that no one ever wants to answer. “There’s been a horrific accident,” explained the policemen. “It’s your husband.” Emily, a young wife and mother of two fell to her knees on the floor. There had been a car accident on Highway 66 in Rockwall. “Oh my God,” she cried out through tears. …
What does it take to become America’s first African American female combat pilot? For Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour, it was going from Zero to Breakthrough! She believes that harnessing the mindset of mission accomplishment no matter what the barriers, or perceived barriers, may be is the breakthrough mentality required to accomplish whatever you set you mind…
The naval officers’ mantra is honor, courage, commitment. As she stared at the flag draped coffin in which her dashing, young, and brilliant naval aviator husband now rested, Shannon Wermers bit back tears and tried to muster up the strength to get through the military funeral ceremony. It had all started out so brilliantly. Although…
It isn’t any secret that the ultimate gift is giving without expecting anything in return. As the first woman to own a casino in Nevada, for rootin’ tootin’ Jesse Beck, it was second nature. Jessie was a colorful, spirited woman with an independent streak. But to VA – 164, a group of Navy…
Putting a pen to words is an art, indeed a gift. Especially when those words have the power to change lives. Mary Lou Weisman was born in 1937 in Fairfield, Connecticut to a mother who believed that writing thank you notes was a high art, and to a father who was convinced that one of…
What would it be like to be aboard a floating city of men? Essentially , a men’s only club, where the sign reads “No Girls Allowed.” Retired Navy Captain Valerie Ormond knows. She was among the first female naval intelligence officers aboard a combat ship for the United States Navy. One of very few women aboard the USS…
Belles of Steel exist downunder too! Take for example, Annabelle Braley, author of BUSH NURSES. Annabelle grew up in rural Australia. Out in the bush, as it is called downunder. Amidst the big red kangaroos and thousands of sheep. As a young girl, her parents wanted a better education than her small town in Queensland…
The subject of adoption brings up many connotations. It is subject for some great stories, great characters, great reads and great movies. Adoption is the greatest gift of love – the gift of life. Being adopted, then having children of your own, you can relate to the incredibly difficult situation a birth…
Guest blog: Flying Solo was one of my favorite reads of 2012. In this book by Jeanette Vaughan, the protagonist, Nora, came up with an ingenious and thrilling plan which worked for her. She found a way to escape from a powerful husband and domestic abuse. I found it fascinating that this was based on a…
When you think of the Vietnam War, what images come to mind? War ravaged soldiers in the jungle, gritty and grimy awaiting the next bamboo spike? Hueys cutting the air with their loud propellers, transporting wounded to evac hospitals. Nurse McMuphy running in fatigues along China Beach to the hot deck to meet a chopper? …
In 1969, a young, single Catholic woman graduated from college with a double major, nursing and education. She was bubbly and vivacious with her curly brown locks. It was remarkable to the nuns of the all-girls Catholic college who had told her she would never make a nurse. Her social priorities overshadowed her academic prowness. …