~ GIRLS WITH GRIT ~
From an article by Samantha Dunn
Paraphrased and enhanced
When your ancestor
was as tough as life itself,
being a wimp is not an option.
Toughness is passed down
to the women in my family
the way fine bone china
is passed down in others.
My grandmother eloped,
so I don�t have her wedding dress,
but I do have her antique shotgun.
Gram wasn�t anything like Annie Oakley
as I had always been led to believe.
I was expecting stories about a woman
who skinned grizzlies,
rode shotgun on a stagecoach
and fought off renegades
with a Bowie knife,
when my Mom informed me
of a much more mundane reality
that was so much more useful
than the legend I anticipated.
�She was every inch a lady,
and she protected her children
and stood up to anyone
to make sure her family
got a fair shake.�
One of my early childhood memories
has to do with my mother
slamming against a refrigerator
a boyfriend who had just
pulled her hair
none too affectionately.
What she told him is unprintable,
but nobody ever touched her again
without her permission.
Given her times and economic position,
that accomplishment was more profound
than any I had ever dreamed up.
Without fully understanding it,
my mother and I had inherited
a legacy with repercussions
not just for us,
but for the men in our lives too.
Only when a woman
is completely and fully a woman,
who knows and accepts
all sides of herself,
can a man have the luxury
to explore 100 per cent
of his capacities as a man.
The hard part for me is living up to
that extraordinary potential.
The following six women
~ a firefighter ~
~ a stunt woman ~
~ a boxer ~
~ an Eco-challenger competitor ~
~ a kayaker ~
~ a hockey goalie ~
~ a notable hopeful ~
cannot claim Samantha�s Gran
or Samantha�s mother
for an ancestor, but all of them
have gone far out of their way
to prove their courage,
character and singularity.
I have no access
to scanned photographs
of these exceptional women,
but the hard copy before me
provides unmistakable evidence
that these are all beautiful,
abundantly well-endowed
creatures of Amazon qualities.
They have different facial features
different hair styles
and different heights and measurements,
but each of them are outstanding
duplicates in every important aspect of
Gabrielle Reece,
the famous volleyball champion.
~ GABBY ~
CAROLINE PAUL
Caroline lives in San Francisco, California
where she is an expert firefighting member
of Elite San Francisco Rescue Squad #2.
Caroline runs four to six miles
five times a week
and weight trains five times a week.
�My toughest moment
was the time it was my turn
to cook at the firehouse.
I can walk easily
into a blazing building,
but the kitchen strikes fear
in my heart.
I�m a lousy cook
and on top of that,
I�m a vegetarian.
So there I was,
trying to impress everyone.
I set down this gray mass of stuff
in front of those big starving men,
and there was total silence.
Turns out they were all waiting to see
if tofu would float to the top.
I�ve been on the squad for seven years
and I still catch hell for that.
All the men are better cooks than I am.�
�Guys,� Caroline points out,
�it�s okay to get swept off your feet
by someone who can also
throw you over her shoulder.�
�Because my twin sister
~ Alexandra Paul ~
is one of the stars on Baywatch,
people on rescues
are always saying to me
Hey, you�re the woman on Baywatch.
There I am, surrounded by sweaty guys,
I smell like an ashtray,
and all I can think is ~
do they think a Hollywood star
would take a second job like this?
And they never believe me,
even when I tell them
I�m not my sister.
But when you think about it,
my job and hers are actually quite similar ~
lots of waiting around
punctuated by moments of extreme chaos.�
THEA INOUE
Thea lives in Malibu, California
is an expert stunt woman.
Tthea weight trains six days a week,
cardio trains for one hour sessions
five days a week,
and engages in martial arts training
five days a week.
�My toughest moment
came when the doctor told me
I had cancer ~ now in remission.
I thought, I can�t have cancer.
I don�t have time for this.
I have to do an eight story fall
tomorrow morning.�
�I want men to know,
and I really believe this,
that only when a woman
is fully actualized
can her man truly be himself.�
LUCIA RIJKER
Lucia, formerly from Amsterdam,
lives in Los Angeles, California
and is a professional boxer
and four time kickboxing champion.
�My toughest moment
was the day I was born.�
�I�m training at the gym every day,
no matter what.�
�I want men to know
I am looking for a man
who can accept my strength
and not suppress it.�
TRISH LEE
Trish lives in San Francisco, California
and is a Labor attorney,
former Ultimate Frisbee
National and World Champion
and the only woman
on a five member
1996 Eco-challenge team.
Trish weight trains
for one and a half hour sessions
three day a week,
cardio trains two hours per session
five days a week,
takes regular three hour
mountain bike rides
plus climbing and paddling
on weekends.
�My toughest moment
was in the Eco-challenge,
having to plot coordinates on a map
when I hadn�t slept for 24 hours,
not knowing where
we�re going to sleep next
or where we were going to find water.�
�I want men to accept women
as true equals and as partners.
Instead of assuming that women
can�t get the job done,
know that in just about any endeavor,
women can perform as well as men.�
ARLENE BURNS
Arlene lives in Mosier, Oregon
and is a professional kayaker,
adventure guide, sports commentator,
outdoor industry consultant
and stunt woman.
Arlene doubled for Meryl Streep
in the action movie
The River Wild.
�I do a lot of yoga because
it�s a form or self-massage,
meditation and stretching.
I don�t go to a gym.
I�m very active in sports
and basically believe you can stay fit
doing simple, everyday things
instead of expecting people
to do them for you.�
�My toughest moment
came once in Tibet
when we were crossing
a frigid lake in our kayaks
and a huge storm came up.
There were three foot swells.
It was so cold
I had no feeling whatsoever
in my arms below the elbow.
I knew if I flipped
I would definitely
be dead from exposure,
and even if I didn�t flip,
everything was still pretty iffy.
When we were a half mile from shore,
the wind shifted and pushed us back.
I was paddling as hard as I could
and only gaining inches.
It was a question of mental endurance
and that�s what separates
the wheat from the chaff.�
�I want men to know
that a woman is almost never threatened
by a guy of equal status.
But a lot of men can be threatened
by a strong woman.
The men I am most attracted to
are manly, but gentle in their strength.
For most women, to find a man like that
is to find a much more attractive
and highly evolved individual.�
MANON RHEAUUME
Manon lives in Quebec, Canada
and Sacramento, California
where she is a champion
ice and roller hockey player.
Manon engages in cardio training
seven days a week,
weight training five days a week
and plays ice hockey in season.
�My toughest moments
are living by myself
and playing in different cities.
The guys can hang out together,
but there aren�t any other girls
for me to hang out with.�
�I want men to know
I am a woman.
I like to shop for clothes,
do girl stuff and all that.
What annoys me,
especially when I first started,
is when the media makes a big deal
out of any time I get hurt playing
or have a bad game, as if to say
See, she can�t cut it
out there with the guys.
As if my getting hurt
or not playing well
was any different from that of
my male team members.
By now though,
they should know better.�
LAILA ALI
Training to enter the boxing ring
in her father�s image and style.
Laila stands 5 feet ten inches
and weighs 175 pounds now ~
approximately fifteen pounds
in excess of her fighting weight.
Laila is a middleweight
and the extra pounds
are not unattractive.
Her illustrious father, Muhammad Ali
~ who was born Cassius Glay ~
used to look with disfavor
on the presence of women in boxing.
�He�s cool now,� smiled Laila.
�He realizes that I�m good
and I can make a difference.�
Laila has not had any fights yet
but fight promoter Tony Trudnich
hopes to sign her up.
�My favorite things about boxing,�
Laila explained, �are hitting opponents
and making them miss ~
knocking them out, of course.
I won�t try to go to the end of a match
but I will, if I have to.�
Laila Ali insisted that
she had yet to make up her mind
about boxing professionally.
�Boxing is not for everyone,� she added.
�Woman�s boxing needs some like me
to take it to the next level.�
Compiler Comment:
The world today must embrace
the ideal of constructive progress
and that begins with the premise
that a man and a woman are equals
each capable of achieving any goal
into which they are committed
to putting their mind, their heart
and their eager determination.
Prejudice and bias are enemies
of the productive evolution
of human nature, for which
we must devote ourselves
to honest communication,
compassionate understanding
and the human rights
of each and every individual
on the face of this planet.
Earth is our home.
We are all terrestrial bipeds
and that makes us all ~
family.
