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From the EditorBy: David SendlerIt’s a woman’s world after all |
• Stepping into the cage of a 14-foot alligator.
• Running the American Red Cross when Sept. 11 hits.
• Interviewing at brokerage firms and being told repeatedly to come back when she’s graying at the temples and a man.
• Enjoying a flirtatious date with a man, who—when learning she’s a lawyer—says, "No one cares about the number on your IQ test. All they care about is the number on your bikini."
So what comes next for these local residents? You’ll find much enlightenment on the female condition in reading how they carried on. For Lady No. 1, see "The Lady or the Gator" on p. 45; for Lady No. 2, see "Didn’t We Learn from Sept. 11?" on p. 48; for Lady No. 3, see "How I Made My First Million" on p. 68; for Lady No. 4, see "Any Good Men Out There?" on p. 62.
In fact, we’re introducing two new columns in this issue, written—you guessed it—by women. The first is called Challenge Quest, and the mission is to keep life fresh by testing yourself in unaccustomed circumstances, taking on the physically and psychologically daunting. Lyn Millner’s the writer, and she brings her wit, sense of humor and adventurous spirit to the task. Yes, she’s the one going into the gator’s cage.
"I love a good story and the thrill of a new experience," she says. "I’m also drawn to all things quirky. As a writer, I’ve followed a group of ghost hunters on an all-night pursuit. I once went to 13 spas in 13 days. I’ve gone to charm school, flirted with men in tuxedos, interviewed mannequins, listened for frog calls and studied the habits of vultures. None of this prepared me to put my hand into the maw of an alligator." Next month you’ll see her, at 40, trying out for the Miami Dolphins’ cheerleading squad. Three cheers for her moxie.
The second new column, Nature Girl, will take us all over Southwest Florida to experience the richness of our outdoor life. Betty Parker will be our guide. She’s won a number of state and national awards for her environmental writing at
The News-Press (where she’s currently doing a column, "Parker on Politics") and promises to help us "enjoy and get in touch with our natural surroundings without too much hardship or discomfort."Most people tend to focus on the beach and water when they first arrive, but Southwest Florida’s natural areas—the cypress swamps, the Everglades grasslands, the mangrove wetlands and back bays and the inland pinelands and uplands—offer so much more than that," she says. On her first outing, Parker takes to the airboats to get up close and personal with the Everglades ("Airboats, the Everglades and You" on p. 123). Nothing like starting with a splash.
Million-dollar Hearts
Our associate editor Rebecca Loveridge reports on the true grit of
Karen Van Arsdale, Mariann MacDonald and Gail Markham in succeeding in business
at a time when it was more a man’s
world ("How I Made My First Million").
But it must be noted they’re driven by more than the profit motive.
Through the Naples branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Karen’s been a big sister to a 16-year-old since she was nine years old. Breast cancer survivor Mariann was recently named vice president of the Southwest Florida branch of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and she was the top sponsor for this year’s inaugural Race for the Cure, which raised $430,000. Gail has been a driving force in establishing the Fort Myers chapter of PACE Center for Girls, which rehabilitates young women who have been abused or have been in trouble with the law. "My entire childhood, my father abused me," says Gail. "It’s a tough pill to swallow. So I’m giving back now." Bless you all for understanding the true bottom line in life.
