Volume 25, Number 1 • January & February 2010 • A publication of the Women’s Community Center of San Luis Obispo

County • Cover: “Revelation” by Gini Griffin

2 Women’s Press Women’s Press January & February 2010

Courtney’s Quill And this has been the tradition of Women’s

Welcome to 2010 and a brand new Women’s
Press. Well, really it’s not that new--the con-
tent is still the same, but the layout has changed.
This new design, as you can see, makes our paper
larger, in all color, and easier to notice. I’m excited
to see Women’s Press around town, in the hands
of women (and men!), reading about Breast Ther-
mography (by Gaea Powell, pg. 7), dealing with
loss and grief (by Kathy Bond, pg. 3 & Ruth
Maples, pg. 8), learning about the limitations of
birthing women (by Jennifer Stover, pg. 11), and
gaining another perspective on our local Sunny
Acre’s debate (by Matt Lombardini, pg. 16). All
of these article and more have helped me gain a
new appreciation for what our community has--
Press, and a tradition that has been occurring
for 25 years! This issue marks the 25th anniver-
sary of Women’s Press--we may be a small paper
in a small county, especially compared to the
The staff of the Women’s Press
world (or the New York Times!), but we are
mighty! In economic downturn, an array of edi- would like to sincerely thank
tors, different printing presses, interns, and com-
puter crashes, we have persevered for longer than
most publications on the Central Coast. So, the Women’s Community Center,
thank you for your support and guidance. I can-
not wait to see what this paper will look like in
another 25 years!
our volunteers, contributors,
So with this new year, comes new resolutions,
and if you are so inclined to make one of your
resolutions volunteering, we sure could use some
advertisers, supporters, and
help here at Women’s Press. We need:
• a workshop coordinator (get to attend all most importantly

wisdom!
All around me I meet women who have such
grace and wisdom to share, and this month, I
received more articles from women around the
county than ever before. And I love it. You’ll see
beautifully written articles sharing advice and
thoughts with new names never before pub-
lished as writers of Women’s Press. Could one of
these women be your neighbor, your sister, your
mother-in-law? Could one of these women be
you, sitting at home thinking of a way to share
your knowledge? If so, send in your thoughts and
articles. Look at this paper--every article written
is a shared bit of knowledge, from a writer who
gains little more than just knowing she enlight-
ened someone’s day. I can’t think of a better way
to live.
you,
our workshops for free!)
• a distribution manager (ever curious about
all the women who distribute in our area?
Get to know them! Make some friends!)
• distributors in Arroyo Grande, North
County, Cambria (you’ll get to know some
wonderful local merchants.)
• advertising representatives (as one of our our readers,
only paid positions, you can make a 20%
commission off ad revenue)
If you are at all interested, send me an email,
for 25 remarkable years.
and I’ll get right back to you. We appreciate all
our volunteers and offer our undying love as
payment--something that everyone needs a bit
more of these days, I believe.
Have a wonderful start to your New Year. I
look forward to hearing from you.

Women’s Press • Voices, views and visions of the women of San Luis Obispo County, California • 6000 free copies distributed in SLO County • Subscriptions are available

Staff • Managing Editor / Courtney Brogno / womenspress.slo@gmail.com • Layout & Design / Benjamin Lawless / ben@penciledin.com • Advertising Team /
Rene Sante & Benjamin Lawless / renesophia@yahoo.com

Contributors • MaryAine Curtis • Inglis Carre-Dellard • Ruth Cherry • Jeanie Greensfelder • Laura Grace • Judythe Guarnera • Hilda Heifetz • Lisa Pimental Johnson • Lisa
Jouet • Angie King • Heather Mendel • Jen Mowad • Berta Parrish • Adele Sommers • Jill Turnbow • Andrea Zeller

Volunteers • Berta Parrish • Jane Hill • Judith Bernstein • June Beck • Kathleen Deragon • MaryAine Curtis • Monica Rosecrans • Shairee Collins • Shantel Beckers • Suzanne
Delinger • Renee Sante

Submissions Welcome Articles, essays, opinion pieces, letters, artwork, poetry wanted & appreciated. The Women’s Press reserves the right to edit all submissions for content, clarity &
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Women’s Press January & February 2010 Body & Soul 3

Angie On Board Walking A Labyrinth

By Kathy Bond to mention Chocolate Trivia, or many cook-
ing demos done by the Party Planner or the
2009. Before our older daughter, Angie, died Cruise Director, who made Chocolate Lava
on April 27th, she expressed two regrets: she Cake with Grand Marnier. Angie could’ve
wouldn’t live to see her two children grow shopped on board or on shore for cloth-
up, and she hadn’t traveled much. On our ing, jewelry, artwork, or other souvenirs and
mid-October, two-week voyage from Fort really gone to town or painted it red, her
Lauderdale, through the Panama Canal to favorite color.
San Diego, I found myself viewing the trip A vocalist and flautist, she would’ve loved
through her eyes. the variety of performers in the mosaic-tiled,
She would’ve donned sandals, tee shirt, green and blue “Starry Nights” walled Van
and shorts in a minute, or swam in the dol- Gogh Lounge. A diva sang Latin numbers:
phin-decorated pool on the Lido Deck, or Carmen, Evita, and Guantanamera. Jason
the salt water one on Deck Ten. Monica and Chase’s comedy and 50’s songs, along with
the band would’ve captured her attention as “Komika,” a British guitar, vocal and com- Photo by Pawe Windys
we left port. edy team would’ve made her smile and laugh
I can see her at English High Tea, in the deeply. I could see her in step at line dance By Dixie Kelly Cliff I press my fingers in my ears to deaden
wood and brass Rotterdam Dining Room, lessons. She would’ve loved to “Name That the cacophony. Now I hear my breath, reso-
greeted at 3 p.m. by white-gloved servers, Tune” with “Piano Man Brian.” My daughter and I stroll through a blooming nating in my chest. I step forward, putting
who escort her to her seat, place a napkin Most of all, extroverted Angie would have meditation garden bordering San Luis Creek one foot slowly in front of the other, con-
on her lap before proffering: scones, raisin greatly enjoyed meeting people from all over on a bright March morning, the morning sciously dropping distracting thoughts along
or plain, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, the world—Canadians, Australians, English, after celebrating Ame’s forty-second birthday the way. Gradually losing my sense of direc-
clotted cream, orange marmalade or straw- and Scots. She might have conversed with at the Gardens of Avila. The sun toasts our tion and time, I feel unusually calm, com-
berry jam, tiny sandwiches, éclairs, pound or Germans,or understood some Dutch. She backs. Colorful birds warble in the bushes. forted.
rum-soaked Opera cake, all served on royal certainly would’ve talked with stewards, serv- We skirt around a large labyrinth, to its I narrow my scope of vision to the small
and gold-trimmed white china. Some times ers, and families with young children, given entrance at the garden’s far side, backed by patch of dry ground between the rock bor-
string music played softly in the background. her teaching skills. a blushing pink fruit orchard. A towering, ders on which my feet plod slowly forward.
Angie’s theater background would’ve enjoyed I recall her remark “Life’s short.” She tastefully painted sign stands close by, read- Meandering back and forth, abruptly forced
the flair and presentation of the last day’s loved it. She would’ve delighted in the cruise ing, “labyrinths have been used by many around corners, denied entrance to the cen-
Indonesian Tea, when tables and staff wore for all the joys of life it offered. I don’t know cultures for thousands of years. The most ter, forced back to the border, I realize that
native fabrics and matching music played. about her interest in the Panama Canal or well-known labyrinth is located at Chartres navigating this maze is a microcosm of life’s
Her waitress and cooking experience a Costa Rican rain forest, but she would’ve Cathedral in France. Labyrinths are used as journey. Able to see only a speck of the cos-
would’ve appreciated the 6,000 meals the loved the people, enjoyed a swim with a a way to calm the mind and relax the body.” mos, unable to anticipate the tortuous twists
cruise line offers daily either at the Lido young couple and their baby in Huatulco, We silently take measure of the large, and turns ahead, moving closer to the cen-
Buffet or two elegant restaurants. The wide or the baptism at the wall-less church there, complex, circular construction. Multi-col- ter only to be flung to the precarious outer
variety of fruits, salads, soups, entrees, and for to a Christian like Angie, life meant liv- ored, multi-textured, cannon ball stones trac- edge again, mimics life. At times I sense Ame
desserts would’ve appealed to her palate, not ing fully. ing intricately interlaced paths, within the nearby until she travels back out of my scope.
sandy circle. An elongated, upended rock This adventure perfectly replicates life’s rela-
marks the center. Further examination reveals tionships, alternating between close and inti-
the circle is divided into quadrants. The paths mate, distant and reserved.
The Genius and the Jerk separating the quadrants lead straight toward
the middle, but the innermost stone circle
blocks entry to the center. We note the path
I grow weary, but as with life, I continue
moving forward, putting one foot in front of
the other. I hold dear a definition of courage
turns abruptly left, leads back to the outer I read long ago. The author’s name is lost to
By Ruth Cherry, PhD In my God-consciousness, I smile and border, and follows a tortuous route back me, and I paraphrase: courage is the length
say, “Thank you.” I know mine is not to eval- and forth within the confines of the quadrant of time you can drag your belly through the
Just like you, I am a genius and I am a jerk. uate or tinker or help. My place is to remem- to the last ring of rock. Again, access to the muck until you are able to stand again. This
I can identify with whichever part of me I ber my oneness with God and to be. Just like center is blocked. The labyrinth looks decep- belief has served me well for years. It will
choose. No matter what the situation is, I you. tively simple. work now.
can be kind and loving and identified with Walking the labyrinth was my idea. Exiting the labyrinth, I saunter over to
my God-consciousness. Or I can be resent- Ruth Cherry, PhD, is a clinical psychologist Unsure of this adventure, Ame asks me to the creek bank and plop down on a wide
ful, ego-centered, frustrated, and pissy. And I in private practice in San Luis Obispo, CA. lead off. I step between matched white rocks green bench, exhausted, but content. The
can rationalize perfectly either attitude! Her specialty is midlife when psychological marking the entrance, close my eyes, inhale gurgling creek ripples glints of sunlight. I
When I focus on what is around me crit- and spiritual dynamics merge. Her five books deeply, and concentrate on drawing my focus savor this moment of grace. Ame joins me.
ically, I choose to be in my Resentful Vic- and guided meditation CD are available inward. I drop my head and stare at my feet, We sit silently for a long time, watching and
tim. “Life’s not fair.” “It wasn’t supposed to at her web sites, midlifepsychology.com and planted firmly on the barren ground. I feel listening. I sense her peace and gratitude.
turn out this way.” “Others don’t give me my God-Life-You.com. balanced. I listen for my breath, but nearby Compelled to break the silence, I whisper
rightful due.” Wah wah wah. traffic noise camouflages it. words of thanks for our love and our lives.
4 Body & Soul Women’s Press January & February 2010

Spirituality Matters Two Kinds of People

By Heather Mendel By Ruth Cherry, PhD

When asked how she is, my friend and men-
tor, Barbara Marx Hubbard of Santa Bar-
bara, responds: “Evolving, thank you and
how are you?” I love this response and was
delighted to find that Barbara was inter-
viewed recently as part of a 14 week tele-sem-
inar that has caught the attention of 30,000
women from all over the world—listening in
on the computer or telephone. A gathering
of this size, by women all over the globe, is
simply astounding—women from all walks
of life responding to the call of the process
of conscious evolution. We’re responding to
something we may not be able to articulate
but whose validity we intuitively recognize.
At a recent Peace Conference, the Dalai
Lama stated that “the world will be saved
by the Western woman.” Inspired by this
sentiment and following their intuitive wis-
dom, in balance with their technological
knowledge, Katherine Woodward Thomas
and Claire Zamitt (www.femininepower.
com) devised and are presenting “Women
on the Edge of Evolution”—an invitation to
“awaken to the power to co-create our lives
and shape the collective future.” The ques-
tion they pose for us to consider is what our
role as women will be, in the creature of our
future on this planet—something profound
to consider as 2010 opens for us.
In the New Year, I plan to start a new
conversation for women in the San Luis
Obispo area based on this series and will wel-
come the participation of those who would
like to be a part of this exploration. Please
feel free to contact me at heathermendel@
me.com should you wish to participate, and
I know we will gather together and watch
our combined energy move us forward.
There are two kinds of people in the world:
those we love and those we don’t understand.
When we see ourselves in others, we like
them. They are like me, we think (rightly or
wrongly), and I don’t need to fear them. We
presume that we know how they think and
what we can expect from them. We think we
know them because we think we know our-
selves. Usually, that’s true only superf icially.
The second group, those we don’t under-
stand, may actually be more similar to us.
Especially if we have a strong negative reac-
tion, we probably unconsciously sense some-
thing in them we don’t like in ourselves. We
project onto them what we haven’t owned
in ourselves. If you haven’t integrated your
own vulnerability, you will feel disdain for
the needy. If you haven’t come to terms with
your anger, you may perceive hostility all
around you. If you practice deceit, you won’t
trust anyone.
What we regard as strange and keep at a now that life isn’t pretty or neat or mani-
distance inside us, we will push away around cured. We know our own Inner Jerk so that
us. We may even label it disparagingly: when we see another’s, we just smile and
“That’s just like a (fill in the blank: woman, think, “I’ve been there, too.”
man, neo-con, bleeding heart liberal, psy- If anyone else had lived your life, she
chologist, lawyer, welfare recipient, rich would understand the decisions you’ve made.
bitch).” The list goes on. Your choices would seem reasonable. She
Until we accept every part of our- could empathize with your struggle. And so
selves, we will criticize others. When we do it is with others you meet. If you had lived
acknowledge and own our quirks and vul- their experience, you probably would make
nerability and ugliness, we can appreciate the the same decisions they did. Perhaps your
universal challenge of being human. We need challenges haven’t been as daunting as theirs
to delve pretty deeply inside and that’s not or perhaps your supports have been stronger.
fun. We don’t do it to feel superior or even Judging anyone else reflects our own lack
good about ourselves. We do it when we can’t of self knowledge. And judging ourselves
survive without knowing what is buried way reflects our own lack of empathy and accep-
way down at our very core. And that only tance for ourselves. We are not here to judge
comes from desperation. anyone. Life is to be experienced. Lessons are
When we have known ourselves in our to be learned and integrated. We are chal-
least favorable aspects, we can understand lenged to be our own best friend. And when
what it is to hurt and still try to go on. We we do that, we see what it is to be human.
Ready to begin the year 2010 with a
new Spiritual Direction?
The Circle of Spiritual Enlightenment is an interfaith community
dedicated to celebrating diversity and honoring
the spirit that connects all things.
Spiritual Leader: Laura V. Grace

Come to Heather’s official local book launch at

Coalesce Bookstore on Sunday afternoon, Jan
24, at 3 and then at Congregation Beth David
on Tuesday evening Feb 4.
• http://www.dancinginthefootstepsofeve.com
• http://www.wordartist.com
• http://sacredfemininematters.blogspot.com/
• twitter: celebratingeve
Sunday Services 10:00am
Please join us for meditation at 9:30am each Sunday before the service
Bring the whole family! Kids love the “Children’s Circle.”
Educational and fun for children of all ages
1500 Lizzie St., Room J-2, Adult School, San Luis Obispo

For more info: 805.541.1963

Website: www.spiritualcircle.org E-Mail: spiritualcircle@spiritualcircle.org

Join us for a celebration of expanding consciousness and love.

Women’s Press January & February 2010
A New Year
By MaryAine Curtis
Mind boggling news: it’s a new year! And
2010! I remember when 1984 seemed a long
way off. Now 2010 here and we’re looking at
2012 as the next big mystery and date to be
aware of.
How have you been preparing yourself?
Are you ready to be the change you wish to
see, or are you still concerning yourself with
what everyone else will think? The most
important question that I can think of is this: that can be accomplished in a day or week.
Are you living a life that you love? Have
you discovered how to be true to your pas-
sion?
There are many things I meant to accom-
plish in the past few years and life hap-
pened and took some twist and turns that
were unexpected. I accomplished some and
went along with others. I did make some
big changes that I didn’t anticipate, though.
I like them and I feel better and that’s good.
Let’s look together at the year ahead and
review the last one a bit.
• What changes did you make in school,
job, home, relationships?
• How did you handle the changes?
• Do you feel good about your-
self and your inner growth from the
experience(s)?
• What did you want to change and MaryAine Curtis is an Intuitive Spiritual
didn’t?
Are you ready to regroup and make a plan website at www.return2joy.com
Nurturing Goodness in 2010
By Jeannie Greensfelder
On Halloween evening at Avila, a group
gathered by the shore: a crying baby otter
had been illegally brought ashore by a swim-
mer.
A man from Harbor Patrol stood on his
truck searching the surf for the parent. Three
women from the Marine Mammal Center
focused on the rag mop baby and dispersed
the crowd. One of them carried the otter,
held high, into the waves, hoping the mother
would see and hear. She did and came close
twice.
When they realized proximity to the
beach kept the mother away, Harbor Patrol
took the pup and left. They returned in a
boat. A man in a yellow slicker stood, held
the bawling baby high, and waited. From the
Body & Soul 5
for this year? What do you want to accom-
plish this year?
• Write it at the top of the paper.
• See yourself completing this in your
imagination. How will it look and feel
when complete?
Now break it down into 12 easier steps so
it doesn’t seem too big. On a sheet of paper
make 12 sections, one for each month. In
each section write the month and a goal for
that month. Break it down to 4 smaller goals
Make sure each goal is part of the big picture
and is attainable.
• Write one thing to accomplish in each
week and each month. Seems easier
already, right?
• Add up how much you’ve accomplished
as you go. Give yourself plenty of “atta
girls”.
Now make the paper pretty and exciting
before placing it in a conspicuous place. This
is the blueprint for your personal success in
2010. Review it, make changes, and improve
it as you go. If you want help or a class, come
to my Design this stage of your Life class at
Avila Community Center starting Jan. 11th.
Make sure you have a great year and love
your life and yourself.
Counselor and Emissary of Change. Visit her
pier the women pointed to a possible sight-
ing. At dusk, with a full moon, the boat
headed in that direction. They placed the
baby on the water--a small dark strip--and
backed the boat away.
Sadly, the mother didn’t come. The otter
pup, taken to the Monterrey Aquarium, is
responding well. This story is about good-
ness: concerned people doing their best,
wanting to help. We don’t face life and death
situations on a daily basis, but the oppor-
tunity to show caring attention exists at the
checkout stand, driving a car, with family,
friends, and with ourselves.
2010 is a good time to nurture goodness
and compassion with one another. Listening
is a simple and generous way to be kind. A
smile is a gift. Think about your typical day,
how and when you might express goodness
6 Body & Soul
Photo by shho
Believing is Seeing
By Ruth Cherry, PhD
What’s important is not what happens to you
as much as how you interpret it. The under-
lying belief that lends meaning to your life
influences your experience more than the
actions of others. For example, a friend is
rude. What’s your reaction? Take a moment
now and note your first impression.
You can focus on having a friend, your
history, the value of that person in your life,
and how she must be having a hard time.
Or you can (again) realize that (predictably)
no one is there for you, disappointment
is imminent, and life is just one hurt after
another. It’s really your choice but the first
and essential ingredient is to realize that you
have a choice.
So much of the “filter” through which
we see our life is unconscious. From infancy
we’ve developed beliefs without knowing it.
We’re comfortable and we decide the world is
safe and welcoming. We’re frustrated and we
expect life always to be difficult. We chan-
nel our feelings (our inner world experience)
into thoughts about the outer world. Then
we focus on what’s outside of us and become
the victim or grateful recipient. (What’s your
underlying belief about the world?)
No matter what happens we can fit it to
our belief. If we distrust the world and some-
one is kind, we know not to take him at face
value. If we believe we’re not good enough
and someone appreciates us, we tell ourselves
she doesn’t really understand. If we expect
life to be welcoming, we chalk up the occa-
sional unpleasantness to happenstance. It
seems our beliefs are irrefutable. We’ll orga-
nize our experience as we must to support
the beliefs that have long existed and may
be mostly unconscious! Even if it leads us to
misery, we remain loyal to those old beliefs.
We do so as long as we don’t examine the
beliefs. When we stop and turn around and
switch on the light; when we’re truly ready
to see our filter instead of blindly accept-
ing our assumptions, we notice different ele-
ments inside our heads. We all have a Critic.
The Critic tells us we’re not good enough, we
never have been good enough, and we never
will be good enough. The Critic assures us
no one could ever love us because we are so
Women’s Press January & February 2010
The Golden Thread
By Inglis Carre-Delard
As we sit at the kitchen table or in our stu-
dios and review the past year, many of us
despair over time wasted, projects not done,
opportunities that have passed us by. Our
thoughts of the New Year are tarnished by
our dismal condition in the present. We feel
that we are being drawn deeper into a dark
place that we don’t want to visit. We get up
and wander out the back door and behold
a glorious rose or a fuzzy bumblebee or
some scampering clouds. Perhaps we get
up and answer the phone call of a dear
friend who says kind words to us or our
mate comes by and drops a kiss on our
head.
A small change occurs that allows us to
envision a brighter new year and a possibil-
ity that we can finish at least some of those
projects. What has just happened is that we
have picked up a thread of hope, and with
it we have begun to stitch together the gash
that has separated our present situation from
a possible better situation in the future.
unworthy. The Critic doesn’t like the way we
dress or walk or look. Many days the Critic
doesn’t say a decent word to us.
We probably don’t “hear” the Critic’s
voice as much as we feel a heaviness. The
invisible wet blanket that smothers our
vibrancy comes from the Critic. The Critic
leads us to be less of ourselves because who
we are naturally is unacceptable. The Critic
blunts our awareness of joy, hope, creativity.
The Controller is another aspect of us.
When the vulnerability is too painful to bear
and we don’t want to remain stuck in suffo-
cating muck, we resolve to avoid our feelings.
We develop an intellectual façade. Or we
become aggressive. Or we take care of others
and hope they will appreciate us. The Con-
troller wants to make life turn our “right”
and will act to avoid feeling. The Controller
wants to assuage the Critic.
Always the Critic and the Control-
ler push on us. Very subtly but unceasingly.
When someone in the world acts in a man-
ner similar to the Critic or the Controller, we
react with a minor atomic explosion. When
we hear outside us what we’ve heard forever
inside us, it’s too much. We can’t see the
other person objectively, we lose our adult
Hope comes in all sorts of packages. Our
relationships with others can be an ocean of
hope. Hope arrives in the guise of a puppy,
or a butterfly, a work of art, or a moving
piece of music. It is available to all of us,
whether we have an optimistic or even a
pessimistic personality. Whether or not we
believe that there will always be a happy end-
ing, we can still have faith that we can handle
whatever comes our way and grow toward a
better future. Hope is that faith.
When a thread of hope comes our way,
we must pick it up in order for it to work its
magic. If I fail to pick up a thread of hope, I
change from a visionary who can heal myself
and the world, to another wishful thinker
with lint on my jacket.
When we pick up a thread of hope, we
give birth to our creativity and stitch it into a
beautiful healing tapestry that stretches into
the future while casting its shimmering folds
over our life and those who share it. In this
special season, may your life and the earth
shine with golden threads of hope blanketing
it and all of creation.
status, and we take the other fellow’s words
personally.
Until we remember we have a choice.
And then we choose to give thanks for our
upset and to look behind the words instead
of being carried away by the emotion. And
we see the Critic and the Controller which
exist inside our own head. When we look at
them, we don’t identify with them. We stay
in the Observer, and we see the immaturity
and the fear and the belief that we are pow-
erless. And then we recognize that these atti-
tudes are from an earlier time in our life. A
time when we didn’t have a choice. Uncon-
sciously, we got stuck there but now that the
light is on we make the unconscious con-
scious. We see the forces driving us and we
step aside. We watch but we don’t react or
identify or lose our anchor. We just notice.
And at this point we have developed
another belief. Now we trust that who we
are is fine and we are firmly rooted in that
awareness of our OK-ness. Nothing can
shake us. We feel the gusts from our Critic
and our Controller, but we are rooted in our
Observer and in our Adult. And when we
interpret life from that standpoint, we have
an entirely different experience!
Women’s Press January & February 2010
Breast Thermography
For the Prevention and Earliest
Detection of Breast Cancer.
By Gaea Powell, CTT
Founder, Central Coast Thermography
A
s the mammography industry house
of cards finally fell at the end of 2009,
many women have become frus-
trated and confused about their breast health
screening options. There is no need to be.
Breast Thermography or Digital Infrared
Thermal Imaging is the latest, most effective
state-of-the-art alternative to mammograms.
This highly sensitive FDA approved tech-
nology can detect physiological abnormali-
ties in breast tissue 8 to 10 years before a
mammogram can detect a mass. It empowers
women of all ages (beginning in their 20’s)
by helping create a risk assessment and man-
agement program for the prevention and ear-
liest detection of breast cancer.
In 1991, my mother and best friend, John-
nie Jo lost her battle to breast cancer at age
49. My doctor informed me that I was in a
high risk group but that I would have to wait
until I was 40 to start having mammograms.
I discovered Breast Thermography in 1995
and I have been utilizing my thermal profile
over the years for better breast health. My
thermograms have alerted me to any changes
in my breasts giving me the opportunity to
take action with diet, exercise, stress manage-
ment, and hormone balancing when needed.
Breast Thermography is non-invasive,
painless, and easy. It is affordable and does
not involve radiation or compression. Ther-
mography is a harmless “green” technol-
ogy and is effective for women with dense
breasts, implants, reductions, for monitoring
the chest wall after surgery, and for pregnant
or nursing women.
There are over 800 peer-reviewed studies
including over 300,000 women. According
to the American Journal of Radiology, Breast
Thermography has 99% sensitivity 90% spec-
ificity, and 90% accuracy.
Now that more and more MDs are now
supporting the use of thermograms, knowing
their patients are not radiation tolerant (no
one is), some insurance companies are begin-
ning to cover thermograms with a doctor’s
recommendation and a pre-approval.
The radiation and compression involved
in mammography is harmful. Mammograms
can cause breast cancer through repeated
irradiation of the breasts and spread cancer
by the fracturing of the fibrous capsule sur-
rounding the tumor through compression of
the breasts.
In 2005, the Nuclear Information
Resource Service concluded that all levels of
radiation are confirmed to cause cancer, but
2009 was an extraordinary year in revealing
the dangers of mammography.
In early 2009, John Hopkins released a
study warning that radiation from annual
mammograms could trigger breast malig-
nancies in high risk patients. Last October,
the New York Times reported the American
Cancer Society now admits the benefits of
mammography may have been over-exagger-
ated. Then the U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force (an independent group of scientists)
issued its report regarding new mammogra-
phy recommendations and questioning the
risks vs. the benefits.
The Radiological Society of North Amer-
ica also released a study concluding that radi-
ation from annual mammography screening
significantly increased breast cancer risk in
women who are pushed into starting mam-
mograms at a young age. More radiation is
needed for younger women with dense breast
tissue.
These new reports have definitely drawn
valid attention to this flawed technology,
especially when the mortality rate from
breast cancer has not changed much in over
40 years.
The fact is doubts about mammogra-
phy have been mounting for decades. Many,
on both sides of the argument, agree that
the value of mammograms may have been
over-exaggerated while some of the draw-
Body & Soul 7
Photo by Eduardo Siqueira Filho
backs, dangers, and risks of subjecting many
women to unnecessary treatment have been
minimized or ignored.
We must be our own health advocates.
Women have the most influential impact on
the new generation. We are the educators
and nurturers; we must lead by example. We
owe it to ourselves, our sisters, our daugh-
ters, and our mothers to stand together and
demand better screening methods be made
available, along with preventative therapies.
If we want different results, we must do
things differently. Do your own research,
know your body, and don’t let the main-
stream medical and/or the spin doctors
frighten you with misinformation and nega-
tivity about your breasts. Our breasts are not
the enemy or time-bombs waiting to go off.
Though most women have breast abnormali-
ties, the majority of us do not get breast can-
cer.
Thermography is easily accessible in
Europe, Canada and larger cities in the U.S.
I am thrilled to offer Breast Thermography
services to the women of the Central Coast
at my location in Atascadero and at Rees
Family Medical in San Luis Obispo. For
more information please visit my website at
www.centralcoastthermography.com.
8 Body & Soul
A Gentle Breeze
By Ruth Maples
Grief is a journey that has a beginning, mid-
dle, and after three years I realize, no end. I
have no choice; I must travel down its road.
As I navigate its twist and turns, I am mak-
ing discoveries about the world around me,
accepting truths about myself, and I have
been forced to face the realities of the hand
life has dealt me.
Words cannot completely describe the
emotions of loss and grief. This is what I
wrote three years ago in a small book. Much
of the book was based on a journal I kept
during Larry’s illness and what I call my
beginning and end year: the year following
the loss of my husband. I know I will never
be able to find the words to describe how
I felt when I lost him. Maybe it is because
there are truly none that have the range and
depth to describe feelings that are beyond
description. Those nameless emotions have
not disappeared, but they are not happen-
ing as often. I now know that they will never
completely leave me. I wonder if that really
is so bad. I do not wallow in them, and they
are not my friend, but they have become my
silent companion. Like a gentle breeze, I feel
their presence. They have become a reminder
that I have loved, been loved, and have lost a
special person.
When I lost that special person, every-
thing stopped but time. Minutes, hours,
days, and now more than three years have
passed. I believe, no I know, each of the years
had a pre-ordained purpose. The first year
reminded me that no matter how much I
wanted my old life back, it was never going
to happen. How could it? I was without my
husband. In the second year, reality hit me in
the face. As I looked around, and saw cou-
ples walking, talking, or holding hands, I felt
life’s cruel slap. In this world of two, I stood
alone; I was now one. During the third year,
I felt the irresistible pull of isolation. How
easy it would have been to never leave my
house. It was the memory of my husband’s
courage during his last year that pulled me
out of myself and gave me the strength to
not fade away.
To do was not easy. Most conversations I
had during the past three years started with
a question. How are you? Early on, proba-
bly starting on the first day of my grief jour-
ney, I knew no matter how I felt, my answer
was going to be: I am fine. Was l fine? Of
course not, so I lied. Often before answering
the question, I thought of a line from a Jack
Nicholson movie. I remembered it so clearly,
“you couldn’t handle the truth.” I know this
was an unfair assumption that I made about
people, but that’s how I felt. I am fine is the
answer that I thought loving and caring fam-
ily and friends wanted and needed to hear.
Now I realize that I was saying words that I
also needed. I repeated I’m fine so often that
it became my breath prayer and yoga chant.
The words gave me encouragement, a sense
of calmness, and finally the ability to be hon-
est with myself and others. I am not fine, nor
will I ever be, but I will be ok.
On my journey to ok, I am discovering
what I call my grief truths. First truth, there
is no grief timetable. Books, experts, and
friends seem to suggest there is a schedule
that we, those who are facing grief, should
follow. But sadness and sorrow do not follow
a set time, nor do they have a straight path.
Yes there are common threads and stages of
grief. However, I am finding that, with all
due respect to the experts, I must chart my
own course. Second, faith is a life boat. I
could not have made it through the first year
without my beliefs. It was always by my side
and in my heart. Faith kept me afloat when
I thought I was going to drown in the dark
sea of heart break and loneliness. Third, grief
is an oxymoron; it is personal, but it is also
something that is shared by so many others.
Finally, grief is exhausting. The loss, sadness,
guilt, loneliness, unknown, and the rebuild-
ing of life takes its toll on every fiber of your
body. Periodically, I have to stop and take a
breather from life. I go away, even if it’s just
inside myself, to rest and re-energize my
body, mind, and soul.
I have come to marvel at the human race’s
ability to re-energize and face life’s pain, but
maybe I have also come to understand it. As
I watch the sunrise in the morning, hear the
laughter of my grandchildren, or see the faces
of my children, I know life’s pull is stron-
ger than its sorrow. I live in the past and the
present. Grief is part of my world, but as
the gentle breeze softly brushes my cheek, I
know it is not my life.
Women’s Press January & February 2010
The Breath of Life and Love
By Laura Grace
How long can you live without food? Maybe
40 days. How long can you live without
water? Maybe 5 days. How long can you live
without breathing? How many seconds?
Breath is a perfect expression of how we
live our lives. When we think everything
depends on us and we must keep everything
under control, our breath is shallow, con-
trolled, and contracted.
When we trust in God, the Universe and
Life itself, our breath becomes full and open,
moving gracefully through a relaxed chest.
It sounds like a deep sigh of relief for that is
exactly what it is: a belief and relief that we
are being taken care of. That’s when we stop
running interference on the Universe and
allow life to flow through us.
The in breath allows you to absorb pre-
cious life force energy, while the out breath
allows your mind and body to let go and
deeply relax. Most people are more comfort-
able breathing in then breathing out. And
yet, it is with through a deep exhale that we
relax into our deeper self and release stress,
worry, doubt, and fear.
When you breathe in deeply and release
the exhale effortlessly, old thought patterns,
beliefs, and painful experiences are able to
move through you. Healing occurs when we
feel safe and are relaxed. Consciously breathe
in and out and notice how the energy of life
flows through you.
Jack Shield, MD, a Lymphologist from
Santa Barbara, CA, conducted a study on the
effects of breathing on the lymphatic system.
Using cameras inside the body, he found that
Graphic by Kymberly Vohsen
deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulated
the cleansing of the lymph system by creat-
ing a vacuum effect which sucked the lymph
through the bloodstream.
This increased the rate of toxic elimina-
tion by as much as 15 times the normal pace.
Right now, take a moment to breathe in
the beauty around you… breathe out appre-
ciation for the love in your life… breathe
in how much the Universe supports you…
breathe out with a feeling of faith and
belief… breathe in the gratitude you have for
your relationships… breathe out with a sense
of wonderment for being alive.
Remember, each emotion has an associ-
ating breathing pattern and vice versa. Take
time to become aware of your breathing.
Practice deep breathing as many times as
possible throughout the day. It is perhaps the
most powerful way we can become grounded
and centered in the present moment and in
our true beingness. When you consciously
breathe in and out, you reclaim your inner
power and are more easily able to handle the
stressors of daily life.
Allow your breath to support you.
Its love and wisdom are powerful allies.
Ahhhhh.
Laura V. Grace is the Spiritual Leader for the
Circle of Spiritual Enlightenment in San Luis
Obispo (www.spiritualcircle.org), an interfaith
spiritual community. Laura is also a teacher
and spiritual director, and a member of Spiri-
tual Directors International. A syndicated col-
umnist for more than twenty publications,
Laura has penned 200 articles on spiritual
growth and is the author of the books Gifts of
the Soul and The Intimate Soul.
 Women’s Community Center 9

Welcome to the New and Improved Women’s Press

A publication of the Women’s Community Center
By Angie King, WCC Board
As you can see, holding this issue of
Women’s Press, we have a new format. But
who exactly is the “we”? Is it the Women’s
Press staff, or the Women’s Community
Center, or both, or something else? Is the
Press the “mouthpiece” for the WCC? Is
it supposed to reflect the views and opin-
ions of the WCC? Does WCC have the
any say over content? Or is it totally sepa-
rate?
I am so involved with the WCC (espe-
cially since I retired from actively practic-
ing law last year) that I forget there are
many in the community, and even in the
feminist Women’s-Press-reading commu-
nity, who are not sure who puts out the
paper, or whose views it expresses, or who
has the final say, or even, who gets the
blame when it all goes south. I thought I
would sort it all out as my way of welcom-
ing you to the new format.
I was reminded that things are not
always what they seem when reading
the editor’s comments in the November
2009 Smithsonian magazine. She begins:
“Our title is our greatest asset” and goes
on to explain that everyone has heard of
the Smithsonian Institution, the great
museum in Washington DC, and assumes
the magazine is put out by the museum.
After all, one joins the Institution as a
member and gets the magazine as part of
the membership. However, as she goes on
to say, that is also their greatest mispercep-
tion. The magazine is “of the Institution”
not about it, as the Institution is the par-
ent of the magazine, but the articles and
editorials are chosen by a separate editorial
board on their merits. It is “not a mouth-
piece for the Institution.”
Neither is the Women’s Press a mouth-
piece for the WCC, even though WCC is
the parent of the WP. The Press is about
the WCC, not of it. The news about
WCC and the activities and events spon-
sored by WCC are indeed published in
WP, but beyond what WCC board mem-
bers submit, the rest of the paper is what
the WP editors deem interesting and
informative and enjoyable to our readers.
The Smithsonian magazine is also sep-
arate from the Institution in its financ-
ing. The Institution does not subsidize it.
Likewise WCC does not subsidize WP,
which has its own advertising (thank you
advertisers!!) and other income produc-
ing activities (like LunaFest and the series
of workshops at the Temple). But, WCC
is ultimately responsible to the public for
WP, and we do subsidize the printing to
the extent revenues do not meet the costs
of any one issue.
The Women’s
Community Cen-
ter is involved with
the operations of
the paper; we want
it to be a success,
and we nurture
the same sensitivities. As the editor of the
Smithsonian puts it: “Where we do reflect
the Institution is in our shared interests.”
We hope you are reading the Press because
you also share our interests. If you would
like to help WCC carry out our mission to
educate, enlighten, and empower women
and their families in San Luis Obispo,
give us a call or send an email. We’d love
to have your energy! And I hope you will
help us keep the WCC a vibrant, thriving
organization in SLO that provides helpful
and accurate services to our community.

Dealing With Divorce

By Robin Rinzler
Owner of Core Mediation Services &
WCC board of directors member
One of the many interesting and impor-
tant things that the Women’s Commu-
nity Center offers the community is the
Divorce Class, presented on the third
Wednesday of every month at 7pm. This
is an opportunity for anyone, male or
female, to come to the WCC and obtain
information regarding divorce.
We offer tips and personal experience,
talk about what to expect, and how to go
about the process. We discuss the pros and
cons of divorce vs. legal separation, and
talk about mediation vs. litigation. We
talk about when mediation is appropriate,
and when it is not. All of this is done in a
group setting.
If we feel that
legal assistance is nec-
essary, or if any of
the participants ask
for legal advice, we
refer them to our Pro
Per Clinic, offered
the following week
on the fourth Tuesday of every month at
The mission of the WCC is: Family Law Action Committee
5:30pm. This is where legal issues can be
• TO maintain an accessible center to
addressed. Dealing With Divorce
collect and exchange information of
Facing a divorce can be a very emo- 3rd Wednesday of each month – 7 PM
interest and concern to women
tional time. In addition to offering prac-
• TO organize and facilitate work- Jan 20, Feb 17 and Mar 17
tical advice, the Divorce Class also offers
shops, clinics, seminars, classes, and $10 donation
a supportive and accepting environment
support groups on subjects of interest
that is sensitive to the emotional needs of
and need Self-Represented Litigants’ Clinic
someone looking at divorce.
• TO engage in and facilitate interac-
The Divorce Class is held at the Wom-
tion among local, state, and national 4th Tuesday of each month – 5:30 PM
en’s Community Center located at 4251
agencies and organizations working Upcoming:
S. Higuera Street, Building 800, San Luis Jan 26, Feb 23 and Mar 23
to benefit women
Obispo, where Los Osos Valley Road Reservations required.
dead-ends onto South Higuera. Call (805) $40 donation
544-9313 to sign up.
 10
What Is The WCC?
By Sonia Paz Baron-Vine
Many times, when I mention to friends
that I belong to the Women’s Community
Center of San Luis Obispo County, I get
these questions...
What is the WCC? Women’s Com-
munity Center (WCC) is an all-volunteer
organization originally founded in 1974
under the name of “Women’s Resource
Center.”
So, what do you do? We enhance
women’s opportunities in the private and
public sectors by facilitating access to ser-
vices. We dducate women to the possibil-
ities in our society. We enlighten women
by facilitating communication between
local, state, and national organizations
that serve women’s interests.
If you are a non-profit, how do you
raise money? We have an annual fund-
raising day, we call it “Day with Creative
Women.” It is an event that celebrates
women’s art, music, poetry, and all forms
of creative expression. Women from all
over California meet at Mission Plaza to
sell art, perform music, and network.
Winter’s Wind
By Sonia Paz Baron-Vine
Driving in the rain
at night..
blurred colorful lights
pass me by
holiday leftover
from diehard neighbors....
It is winter in Central California
and I am cold, I also cry easily
lately... because my son is sick...
It is hard to keep a cheerful face
when inside of me I have
this heavy heart...
You my oldest son,
once bright, witty, strong
now sad, sarcastic, weak
How can your group help me? We
offer resources and assistance in differ-
ent areas like: Family matters, counsel-
ing, employment, legal issues, education,
healthcare, childcare, housing. Our refer-
rals to community agencies and orga-
nizations, as well as our workshops and
seminars on issues important to women,
are a source of great joy to women search-
ing for answers.
Do you offer legal guidance? We offer
a monthly legal clinic for self represented
litigants. Volunteer attorneys provide one-
on-one legal advice to participants. This
service is great for women who do not
have access to money in their relation-
ships, or are unemployed and need legal
assistance. We also offer a monthly non-
legal divorce advice class. We maintain
a court watch program, monitoring the
Family Law Courts to ensure women’s
voices are heard.
Are you related to the Women’s
Press? Yes, we own the Women’s Press;
we are very proud of its quality, and the
impact it has on the community; our
newspaper’s articles include WCC news,
calendar of events, workshop and program
information, and issues of special concern
to women. It is also a forum for creative
the cancer hurting you,
the chemo poisoning you,
And me...
praying to all the goddesses
in the middle of the park
away from everyone
crying under the rain
screaming to the winter’s
wind to ask mother earth
to heal you...
My tears are salty
they fall copiously
from my tired eyes
down to my neck
as I search the stars
for an answer...
Women’s Community Center
writing, letters and poetry. The paper can
always use new writers and reporters and
persons willing to distribute the paper
every two months or find more advertis-
ers. We encourage women to submit arti-
cles for publication at womenspress.slo@
gmail.com
Where do you do your work? We are
located in San Luis Obispo, California,
at 4251 South Higuera St. inside the SLO
Business Center. Our phone number is
805-544-9313.
Where can I find your website?
Email wccslo@gmail.com, and check
www.wccslo.org and wccslo.blogspot.com
How can I participate? We are happy
to welcome new volunteers, no experience
necessary; we’ll train you!
Staff the phones: Can you spare a few
daytime hours once a week to lend a lis-
tening ear? Training is provided to help
you be a sympathetic, nonjudgmental
resource for the many people who call
requesting our help.
Court watch: Do you have time to go
to court with our clients? You would sit
in the courtrooms and observe family law
cases for us. We provide training and the
observation forms needed to help us tab-
ulate instances of bias in how the courts
treat people handling
cases without an attor-
ney to assist them.
Organize: Do you
like organizing? Help
us plan and produce
special events, such as
seminars, Day With
Creative Women,
fundraising, and the like.
Manage the office: Are you willing to
donate 2 hours of your day 5 days a week
and accept only the “pay” of free coffee, a
few pieces of chocolate, and the satisfac-
tion of knowing you may have made a
difference in a woman’s life? You would
be offering a sympathetic ear to callers,
checking the log for any unfinished busi-
ness, making follow-up phone calls.
And most of all, donate!
If you want to help, please go to our
web page, download the volunteer-
app2009, complete it, and return to our
office at: Women’s Community Cen-
ter, PO Box 15639, San Luis Obispo, CA
93406
I hope all this information has been
useful to you; please help spread the word
about the WCC.
Thank you!
Graphic by marchecco
Women’s Press January & February 2010
A Sign on a Door
By Jennifer Stover
“Because the Physicians at Aspen Wom-
en’s Center care about the quality of their
patient’s deliveries and are very concerned
about the welfare and health of your unborn
child, we will not participate in a “Birth
Contract”, a Doula Assisted, or Bradley
Method delivery. For those patients who are
interested in such methods, please notify the
nurse so we may arrange transfer of your
care.”
A photo of this sign has been posted on
the internet and has created a stir in the pro-
natural birth community. Wow! So here is a
hospital being completely upfront with their
beliefs: natural childbirth is less safe, labor-
ing moms and dads do not have the right
to make their own choices during the birth
process regarding the safety of their babies,
and they cannot bring into the process any
outside professionals who do believe in the
safety of natural birth. As a doula, I am both
shocked and glad they are being this straight
forward. Many hospitals and medical profes-
sionals share these same beliefs, but they are
not so open about it. The women in Aspen
who take a tour of this facility before they
make a choice about where to birth their
babies can decide for themselves if the phi-
losophy of birth expressed here is a good
match for them. Luckily, I was able to find
one other hospital in the Provo Utah area
where the Aspen Women’s Center is located,
so women do have a choice.
At the root of this sign are two men, Dr.
Robert Bradley and Dr. Fernand Lamaze, but
to understand why a sign like this would end
Photo by Kathryn Lane Berkowitz
up hanging on a door in a maternity ward, it
is helpful to look at a little history. Perhaps
one of the worst times for birthing women
in this country occurred during the era when
doctors stopped going to their patients and
medicine became more centralized. Driven
by the discovery of germs to be feared and
a culture that turned away from individual-
ization and toward efficiency, hospital pro-
tocols turned birth from a family event into
the business of birth. Culturally women were
trained to acquiesce to male authority fig-
ures and so they passively allowed the process
of birthing babies to be taken over, fathers
were excluded, rigid hospital routines were
followed, and male doctors dominated the
scene.
Then the Sixties arrived and with it the
women’s movement, hippies, and the pro-
test era. Into this powerful mix walked Dr.
Bradley and Dr. Lamaze to spearhead the
“natural” birth movement here and abroad.
Although their “methods” differed, they
both believed two things: the sensations of
birth can be handled without pain medica-
tion, and a husband’s help is vitally impor-
tant to the process. Through their books and
training of out of hospital birth educators,
they changed maternity care in this country
by creating consumers, moms and dads, who
demanded changes.
Fathers went from being completely
excluded and made to sit anxiously wait-
ing in a separate room to being required to
be an active participant at their child’s birth.
Women showed doctors it was possible to
experience labor without being rescued by
pain medication; birthing in up right posi-
Continued in SIGN, page 22
Attached Parenting
Principle 4: Use A Nurturing Touch
By Lisa Jouet
Attachment parenting is heartily demon-
strated by the use of nurturing touch. This
begins when a newborn baby is held close to
her mother’s chest. An un-medicated new-
born is generally very alert for at least an
hour or so after birth. During this special
time, “feel-good” emotions and hormones
are stimulated by the warm touches between
mother and baby. What many people may
not realize is nurturing touch continues
every day after birth into toddlerhood and
even into adulthood.
My daughter was carried first in a sling,
then a soft carrier, and today, at three and a
half years old, still enjoys being on our backs
in a soft carrier. Truthfully, she did not seem
to like the sling as a newborn unless we were
walking around. She soon grew accustomed
to it and would usually fall asleep in it after
breastfeeding. Later, in the front carrier, we
started out with her facing us. She was able
to turn away from external activities if she
wanted to rest, or she would turn and see
what was going on if she was wide awake and
rested. Eventually, she only wanted to face
the world in the front carrier but soon grew
too heavy for both my husband’s and my
shoulders and backs. We took our friend up
on an offer to borrow her soft carrier, which
Motherhood 11
allowed us to carry our girl on the front, side,
or back; we loved it and so did she. Having
her on us enabled us to cook, go for walks,
attend a festival or two, and even work a
little. My husband and I felt so right about
having our baby close to us, and she seemed
so happy being held, too.
I have also given my daughter short mas-
sages with body lotion after her bath for a
few years now. She doesn’t mind the mini-
massages, but she doesn’t love them either.
Perhaps she will enjoy it more later in life
when she can differentiate between being on
the go and winding down. She loves brief
tickling sessions, and her father and I always
listen to her verbal and non-verbal cues
that tell us she wants more or she has had
enough. I have heard wrestling is another
positive form of touch between parents and
their kids when they get older. Other forms
of nurturing touch our daughter enjoys are
sitting on our shoulders, piggy-back rides,
bath-time, hand-washing, playing doctor,
story-time, and dancing together, especially
when we imitate ballet dancers.
I encourage everyone to practice nur-
turing touch with all of the special people
in your life, especially your children and
your partner. Making time for these special
moments will create bonds and memories
that will last a lifetime.
12 Motherhood
Welcome (Home)
By Diane Halsted
I am always delighted when one of my chil-
dren comes to visit and just as delighted
when he or she leaves. Even when they were
still in college and hadn’t lived away from
home long, I felt like this. I miss my chil-
dren tremendously and I welcome them, but
togetherness calls for compromises from us
both. Make no mistake about it: Once your
child has moved away, once your child is
your adult child, he or she is a visitor.
When my children lived at home, they
had chores to do, helped with cooking,
shared in creating our routines. Now when
they visit, I shop, cook more than usual, wait
around for them to come back from an out-
ing, reschedule activities because I want to
be with them, and change my eating habits.
I become the hostess. They don’t, of course,
ask me to do any of this, but it is what one
does when one has company. And let me say
it again: This adult child, this fruit of your
womb, is now your guest.
For parents who still live in the home
where their children grew up as I do, home-
coming presents challenges. My son’s bed-
room is now my study and my daughter’s
bedroom is a guest room. Except for my son,
guests stay in the guest room. He doesn’t feel
Miscarriage
By Gina Carmen Turley
I wanted you to taste my life like I tasted
yours.
The thought of your vibration sent music to
my steps.
You and me and all of the family that waited
for you-inside you were already mine.
Inside you were only a spirit.
Inside me- connection to spirit.
Baby Baby, where did you go?
Why did the blood spell out the failure of
my body?
Was it my past?
Was it the hormones trapped in chemicals,
torn with age, mixed up with emotions?
Who made this decision?
Was it DNA?
Was it God?
Was it my unconscious or was it his?
Do not leave me precious little...
Again, I try.
comfortable—or I should say, because he has
never tried it, he doesn’t think he would feel
comfortable—sleeping in his sister’s room.
He sleeps on the sofa bed in the sitting room
which limits my access to television and sew-
ing machine. I tolerate this inconvenience
because I so want him to come, to feel wel-
come and comfortable.
If parents have moved, homecoming
presents other challenges. Adult children
come only to see their parents, not to “come
home.” My parents left our family home
after I finished college. In their new home,
no space had been mine and I felt as the visi-
tor, not the returning child. They had to give
directions to the grocery store and tell me
where to find pots in the kitchen.
When my children, now thirty-some-
thing, visit, we talk early on about our plans
so we know what to expect. They ask if I have
jobs I’d like done. Sometimes we must share
my car. They considerately tell me how long
they plan to be away when they go out and
call if their return will be later: They know
my mother’s ears kick in immediately, and I
worry at every siren. In short, I treat them
with the same considerations I give all my
guests, and they show the same respect other
guests do. Adults taking pleasure in each oth-
er’s company, we enjoy our visits.
Again Blood drips from my uterus spilling
the naked truth.
Again, I try.
Again, Blood drips from my inside, ripping
my heart-leftover garbage- strips broken
heart left scarred.
Again, I try.
Death before the birth.
Again, I try.
It isn’t me.
I can heal.
My body may come with me and celebrate
another birth or not.
Tears may come and tears may go.
nature has a way of telling us.
We are okay.
nature has a way of telling us.
Love heals.
nature has a way of telling us.
We are special.
May I feel your spirit in mine little precious.
Dancing on Earth or dancing in Heaven.
Today or tomorrow.
naturally.
Women’s Press January & February 2010
By Lisa Pimentel Johnson
Normally I would not review the same
author for three books, but he is really good!
It is a new year and we all could use a lit-
tle “zen” in our lives. Zen is a Japanese word
that means “meditation,” and all of these
books abound with enlightenment and love.
The first book by Jon J Muth, called, Zen
Shorts, has won the Caldecott Honor award
and is a delightful,
gentle story about
a wise Panda bear
named Stillwater.
Stillwater becomes
friends with three
c h i l d r e n — A d d y,
Michael, and Karl—
when he moves into
their neighborhood.
Each curious child
comes over to his
house to discover and
play with the giant
friendly bear. Still-
water calmly eases
into telling each of
them a story about
human nature. This
book is an excellent teaching tool for parents
and children to talk about our own lives and
the reactions given the same situations in the
book. It is an opportunity to share values and
build character as we strive to understand
ourselves. In the end, it is how all the chil-
dren and Stillwater are connected in life and
the living of it!
The second book, Zen Ties, also stars my
new favorite Panda bear, Stillwater. This time
his nephew, Koo, comes visiting and only
speaks poetically...in Haiku style. Every time
Koo said something, it was as a short poem of
three lines, usually stressing five, then seven,
then five syllables. The result is an engaging
little bear who speaks succinctly! Once again,
human nature is explored and this time it
involves an old, grumpy lady, Miss Whitaker,
who lives on their street. Through Stillwater’s
patience and example, all the children and
Miss Whitaker have an attitude adjustment.
Being an environmentalist, I also enjoyed the
tag line about the disposable cup. After reus-
ing the same paper cup during his visit, as
Koo is leaving to return home, he tells Still-
water, “Nearing my visit’s end / summer now
tastes of apple tea /
I will keep my cup,”
all in perfect Haiku
of course!
The third book,
The Three Questions,
is based on a story
by Leo Tolstoy. In
Muth’s version, a
young boy ponders
three questions to
his companions, the
heron, monkey, and
dog. The questions
are:
• When is the best
time to do things?
• Who is the most
important one?
• What is the right thing to do?
The answers he receives does not ease his
angst, so he journeys onward, seeking the
wise old turtle. Before he can get his answers,
a huge storm blasts through the mountains
and cries for help are heard by the boy. While
rescuing a mother and child, he is led to the
answers he has been searching for.
All the illustrations in these books are
exquisite watercolors and elegant ink draw-
ings. The simplicity of the images are beau-
tiful, and he often used his own family as
models.
My advice is to buy all three of these
books and be reminded of the unexpected in
the ordinary.
Women’s Press January & February 2010
In the new year, what are you
not going to give up?
Jill Turnbow
Hope.
Gina Whitaker
I am working hard to meet my goal of los-
ing 70 pounds. I started May 4, 2009 with
Weight Watchers, and am halfway there. I
am NOT going to give up my journey to a
healthier, lighter me in the New Year!!
Amy Aldinger
Wine.
Katy Meter
My faith in humankind. I will continue to
focus on countless acts of kindness and good-
will counteracting all the negativity reported
by the media. Many blessing to us all in the
upcoming year.
Leslie St. John
I will not give up red wine, dark choco-
late, and at least one media guilty pleasure—
currently, Mad Men.
Anonymous
I am not giving up chocolate or sex!
Voices 13
presents
A Monthly Series of Spiritual Workshops
Save the World
Temple Beth David, 10180 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo
Third Thursday of Each Month • 7-9 pm • $20 suggested donation
Contact womenspress.slo@gmail.com or (805) 541-6874 for more information.
Photo by Sanja Gjenero January Workshop February Workshop
Kelly Swanson
Cookie dough and full-fat lattes are stay- Would you like to step into the new year freer An imaginative journey (aka guided medi-
ing in my life! than ever before? Are there recurring themes tation), expressive art, and group discussion
and patterns that keep replaying in your life? that will explore how to move co-creatively
Jen Kaplan Do you feel that you would like to move for- into the New Way. We will attempt to attain
I am not giving up working with women ward but don’t know how? Are you actively the perspective of a blank canvas and new-
in the community to know their bodies when writing the script for your life? born babe. Bring a paper map of the geo-
pregnant and to have faith in the natural pro- Come and explore the concept of energy graphical area you live in that can be cut up
work and of how things are storied in our and painted on, and wear comfortable casual
cess of birth. Even though I have a family and
bodies. Using her training as a healer and clothing. All other art supplies provided.
am really busy, I will not give up my advo- shaman, Terri will open a sacred space to
cacy for what I know is right and helpful for explore and discuss the nature of healing at Jennifer Star is a certified CJEA instructor
all women. the various levels of our being; physical, men- through Dr. Lucia Capacchione’s Creative Jour-
tal, emotional, spiritual, and energetic. nal Expressive Arts certification training pro-
Tasha Johnson When we embark on our personal jour- gram (2003), trained in the mid 1990’s with the
Nothing! I never give up anything for ney of healing we begin to shed the past and late Tamara Slayton (1950 - 2003) in “Reclaim-
New Years, which is why I am, once again, become more present to this divine moment, ing the Menstrual Matrix” feminine mysteries,
not going to sacrifice anything in my life. I and can then story a new life for ourselves and with Dr. Connie Kaplan’s Dream Circle
love who I am, what I do, and the decisions and those around us, even our world. Leader Course in 2007 to become a dream circle
I make. Everything I do—whether good or leader that focuses on the collective dream. She
bad—is part of my life story: unfolding with Terrie Miley is a local healer, teacher and is currently president of the Creativity Club at
grace, determination, and acceptance. musician on the central coast who has studied Cambria’s Joslyn Adult Recreation Center and
with Alberto Villoldo, PhD, author of Shaman, director of the Peace Pie Mandala Project. She
Healer & Sage and creator of Healing the Light has also recently launched her latest endeavor
Next issue question: Body School. She is trained in the traditions of via the world wide web - 13 New Moons: A
the medicine of the Inca, South America and journal of self-discovery within the lunar cycle.
What book has
the Shamans of Peru; she is a graduate from The For more information on all the various proj-
changed your life? Fourwinds Healing the Light Body Program. ects Jennifer is involved in please visit her main
E-mail responses to website at www.JenniferStar.net.
womenspress.slo@gmail.com
14 Local Perspectives Women’s Press January & February 2010

Brain Candy
By Lisa Pimentel Johnson

While waiting to find a job, I pursued explor-

ing the right side of my brain. Soon I had
all three extension leaves permanently set in
the dining table and canvases, brushes, and
acrylic pots of kaleidoscope colors were like
confetti covering the space. Sometimes the
art flowed easily from my brain to my hand.
Other times, I grinded my teeth and tried to
slow down my hand. But always there was
something missing in this new colorful sat-
uration of my life. It was an emptiness that
charcoal, Monet, or a Rodin sculpture could
not fill. I noticed my verbal repartee was dis-
appearing in silence, and I was worrying that
all the rubber cement glue fumes were burn-
ing up my brain cells.
As I was sharing a gluten free pizza with
my daughter, in between bites of oozing
mozzarella, we chatted about psychology. I
was shocked that I could string a few words
together, and I actually could feel my brain
snap alive and hum with happy noises. I was
dusting off words I hadn’t used in months
and even stumbled over their pronunciation
a few times. I felt like I could write a book
about motherhood and psychology interwo-
ven with humor, sadness, and hope.
I crave brain candy. I need to use my
brain in challenging ways and feed it all the
time. With this new insight, I am going
back to school for a Masters in Psychol- Her experience with budgets, policies, tech- which seeks to raise awareness and funds to
ogy to attain licensure as a Marriage Family By Berta Parrish nical writing, project management, and strengthen the library system, and she chairs
Therapist. My brain sugar rush will be learn- long-range planning are all being used in the FOL Liaison Committee with the Foun-
ing and pushing beyond all my comfortable If a bibliophile is a lover of books, then Pat her current role as Vice-Chair of the Sys- dation.
boundaries. Art will always be stylizing my Williams deserves a broader descriptor as tem Advisory Board (SAB) of the Black Gold Even with the strain of cutbacks on the
life, but engaging my brain will be the sweet- a lover of libraries. Perhaps librairephile can Cooperative Library System. If you have ever staff, volunteers, and programs, Pat remains
est gift to my life! be especially coined for her. From owning checked out a book, you know about this dedicated and optimistic. “In spite of all the
just two books as a child, Pat is now vitally fantastic three-county system. SAB board sadness and concern about how to keep the
interested in the countless books, periodicals, members advise the Administrative Council libraries an integral part of the communi-
films, CDs, computers, and reference materi- about the needs and concerns of the people ties, I don’t lose my enthusiasm,” she states.
als in SLO county and the people who use it serves by working with the Friends of the “It’s something that I love with all my heart.
them. Her many and varied volunteer posi- Library (FOL), groups of ten of the twelve And you don’t abandon something you love,
tions with the public library system fuels her county libraries. like a marriage that’s going through a rough
enthusiasm to make information easily acces- With the unfortunate recent public time. If you’re going to stay committed and
sible for everyone. However, her passion goes library budget cuts, we are very fortunate involved, it has to be something you love.”
beyond this intellectual commitment. that Pat is contributing her time and exper- From raising money for two local librar-
“For me, a library is a sacred place,” she tise to the increased need for volunteers and ies through craft fairs and bookstore sales, to
explains. “I will swoop into a library in a for more involved Friends of the Library serving on boards and foundations, Pat Wil-
rush, and I’m often caught off guard with organizations. In 2007, Pat conducted a liams is one of the nearly 600 volunteers who
how special the space feels. There’s history SAB-sponsored workshop for the SLO, Santa donate their time to an SLO library within
in these buildings. They hold our past, our Barbara, and Ventura County’s FOL organi- a given week. Even though they are doing
future, and our present. Education, family, zations which focused on recruitment, effec- what they love, we, the recipients of their
discovering your roots, becoming historically tive volunteer/staff relations, and creative work, are grateful. So, the next time you see
connected. All these and more are found in a fundraising ideas. She also formed a “San a volunteer shelving a book or contributing
library.” Luis Obispo FOL Presidents group” so they as a Friend of your library, spread the love
After a 33-year career in biomedical can coordinate activities, share information, by telling that librairephile how much you
research, Pat retired as a Health Policy Ana- and learn from one another. Doing even appreciate them.
lyst at the National Institutes of Health in more, she serves as a Director on the Foun-
Maryland and moved to Creston in 2001. dation for SLO County Public Libraries,
Women’s Press January & February 2010
Local Green Solutions
for Saving Energy
(and Money) at Home
By Kathleen Deragon
H
ow energy efficient is your home
and how can you best find out?
Have a whole house performance
specialist come in and do an energy audit.
Because a home auditor is an independent
inspection agency and does not sell products
or services beyond the home energy inspec-
tions, so they are not motivated to sell you
anything. They are just providing informa-
tion to help you make the wisest decisions
for your particular situation. However, they
can recommend products they have used and
in which they have confidence.
What might you find out?
• Air leakage is one of the most overlooked
sources of energy inefficiency. According
to the US Department of Energy, 40%
of all your heating and cooling energy is
lost through leaks, either in your duct-
work or through the house itself.
• You’re losing more air from around your
recessed lighting than you are from your
windows and doors.
• While a tankless hot water heater can Passive solution strategies include:
give you unlimited hot water, it may not • “Clear storey” windows and solar tubes
save you money. There are other efficient
water heaters and recirculating pumps
systems that may serve you better.
• Cleaning your refrigerator coils and low- • Outside screens and inside curtains that
ering the temperature inside can save
you money.
• Adding insulation before you adequately
seal an attic or walls reduces the effi-
ciency of the added insulation.
• Air exchangers can enable you to control
how and where your house breathes.
• Not all compact fluorescent bulbs are
created equal.
• A water catchments system can provide
you with gray water or rainwater for
watering your garden.
• You can contribute to the air quality in
your home by replacing carpet with tile,
bamboo, cork, or linoleum floors and
using area rugs. If you want carpet, use
natural fibers.
• Water quality is not an easy issue. We
have hard water here, but is the use of
water softeners and purifiers worth the
financial and environmental cost? And
are chlorine and fluoride safe?
• Green plants improve air quality in a
home.
that add light without adding heat
• Overhangs and awnings that shade win-
dows during the summer
also keep heat out of the house
• Plants on west-facing walls that can
block the sun, reducing home tempera-
tures
• In certain situations, adding tile to the
floor or additional wallboard to walls
to stabilize temperatures, making the
house cooler during the day and warmer
Local Perspectives 15
Graphic by Kostya Kisleyko
Paul Menconi
Energy Efficiency Solutions
info@ees-slo.com
805-541-0367
at night Troy Spindler
• Using non-toxic cleaners and clear- Green House
ing out the ones that have accumulated troyspindler@sbcglobal.net
under your sink or in a laundry room 805-704-5771
• Using lamps for task lighting
• Opening windows to cool off your liv- Ed Warner
ing spaces Insight Builders
EdWarner2U@yahoo.com
There is no one solution that fits all: it 805-474-4139
always depends on a multitude of factors
unique to your home. Kathleen Deragon is a member of the South
Building science is a relatively new field, County Initiating Group for Transition San
so many of the assumptions that are the basis Luis Obispo County, part of a fast-growing
for current building codes or practices are international network of communities that
outdated. are each implementing their own plan for cre-
The tenets of green building relate to ating sustainable projects such as utilization
indoor air quality, energy conservation, and of local food, building energy efficient trans-
the sustainability of building materials and portation systems and buildings, finding and
furnishings. creating renewable energy sources, and other
Relatively inexpensive and easy solutions projects. Community goals are to increase local
for the most common problems may include self-reliance, moving away from dependence
replacing incandescent lamps with compact on shrinking supplies of fossil fuels and lower-
fluorescent bulbs; sealing air leaks; improv- ing our impact on the environment in response
ing insulation; buying Energy Star appliances to climate change. Within these goals, mem-
including a more efficient hot water heater; bers of the Transition movement seek to create
buying low flow and/or double flush toilets; a purposeful, well-planned transition to a posi-
adding plants inside your home to improve tive future based on community collaboration.
air quality; and having window coverings Go to www.transitionus.org and http://transi-
that block heat and UV rays. tioncalifornia.ning.com/for more information
Three local businesses that offer about the Transition Town Movement. Or call
energy efficiency information and green solu- Kathleen at 805-474-6444.
tions are:
16 Local Perspectives
Nothing Serious
Just Say I Do
By Jill Turnbow
I took on a new role recently. Something I
have prepared for all my life. I was recently
asked to serve as “Wedding Coordinator” for
a dear friend. She believed I would be per-
fect for the job, and at the time I felt she was
absolutely correct. I knew that the previous
27 weddings I had been in (and no, I’m not
lying, I have seriously been in 27 weddings)
gave me the experience I would need to pull
off the blessed event. And up to that point, I
had done everything but sing (and I feel safe
in knowing no one is going to ask me to do
that), but I had never been a “coordinator“!
Then she said, “you’re perfect because you’re
so bossy; you’ll keep my crazy family in line.”
So in one fell swoop, I went from Madame
Director to Referee.
This lovely outdoor ceremony came with
a very strict seating arrangement. “You can
NOT let my mother and father get anywhere
near each other!” the Bride commanded.
“And keep Grandma out of the champagne!”
But in all honesty, while she thought her
family would misbehave, I found them all
charming and agreeable. But I was only there
for two hours. That’s the beauty of the job.
Women
By Jean Gerard
It takes a dream to stir the heart
of woman’s love and longing.
It takes the night to wake her shades
of dulling memory and regret.
Next come the words to shine
a light on terms, mixed assignations:
mother daughter sister crone
goldilocks grandmother wolf
before the beautiful parade
files past, attenuated on life’s tilted
runways, dropping lace perfume
petals buttons snaps and ruffles
twirling back on youth and games
I believed I had thought of everything,
having made several lists, and gone over
everything in my head. I even thought to
bring a second pair of shoes. In the first hour
I had rubbed a blister the size of the bou-
quet. I realized that if you’re not the bride,
no one cares about your feet, so nobody
noticed the slippers. But I also learned that
you can’t control everything, especially if the
wedding is outdoors. Who knew the neigh-
bor’s dog could run that fast down the cen-
ter aisle and almost lift his leg on the Bride’s
father. Who knew a branch would fall from
a tree and smack his girlfriend in the head?
Neither of those things were on my list. And
neither required medical attention, so we sol-
diered on.
But you have to love a wedding. It’s a joy-
ous occasion. A proclamation of undying
love, a vow to live out your life together as a
couple…a vow witnessed by two step-moms,
a Mom, a Dad, a step-dad, Dad’s girlfriend,
Mom’s third husband. Welcome to the fami-
lies, you two. I wish you the best.
Jill would just like to say that if anyone in the By Matt Lombardini
family is reading this…I kid. I love you Amber! Volunteer, Sunny Acres, Inc.
Thank you for letting me be a part of your
beautiful day!
and dances and the wild rush
of marriage in-laws births
feeding bathing nurturing.
Then daughter’s teen-age bloom,
her eager risk and asking if and when
and how, and what am I? Are you?
Mixed signals, click of stilted heels
lipstick smiles and painted nails
and stern denial of white hair
and that sad insidious awareness
of a narrowing tenuous future
as many moons fill and lapse
and the woman gives up breath
and passes into the woods alone,
yet fit to burst with loving.
Women’s Press January & February 2010
Sunny
Acres
Whether homeless people are better off in
the creek or in what modern society deems to
be sub-standard structure’s not built to code,
is an ethical matter not a legal issue. Laws are
often passed that are put forth for the benefit
of the people by the people. However, there
are times when extenuating circumstances
exist which may override the law. I believe
this to be the case regarding Sunny Acres and
Dan De Vaul’s actions. Mr. De Vaul is a bit
of a renegade. It is precisely because of this
quality that he has been able to stand up to
the powers that be and do what he feels he is
“morally and spiritually obligated” to do in
order to help people less fortunate then him-
self and others. He presents a challenge to
the status quo and this is what sets him apart
from many others. This is a man who stands
by what he believes in and does not waver.
The only thing Mr. De Vaul is guilty of is
acting from a place of decency and concern
for his fellow man. He watched as the county
condemned the campers and trailers people
were living in on his property. While the
county was unwilling to help with this pro-
cess by simply allowing the required use and
building permits to construct legal housing,
he opted to build a converted barn for the
formerly homeless residents to live in. Con-
A Volunteers Perspective
Photo taken at Sunny Acres
sequently, when the county condemned the
building, citing code violations, the residents
were forced back into the campers and trail-
ers, and many left—traumatize--returning to
the creek sides where they formerly lived.
Unless the laws are relaxed and fees are
reduced for required permits, the idea of
ending homelessness in our county with the
assistance of non-profit agencies may never
be realized. In many ways Sunny Acres rep-
resents a time gone by when it was ok for
one man to help another with what he had
to work with. In light of this, I believe the
current system warrants serious examination
of the way we address issues such as home-
lessness in our county and throughout the
Country.
“The poor who have neither property,
friends, nor strength to labor are boarded in
the houses of good farmers, to whom a stipu-
lated sum is annually paid. To those who are
able to help themselves a little or have friends
from whom they derive some succor, inad-
equate however to their full maintenance,
supplementary aids are given which enable
them to live comfortably in their own houses
or in the houses of their friends. Vagabonds
without visible property or vocation, are placed
in work houses, where they are well clothed,
fed, lodged, and made to labor.”—Thomas Jef-
ferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XIV, 1782. ME
2:184
Women’s Press January & February 2010
Don’t Let Information
Gaps Sap Your
Business Success
By Adele Sommers
Many of us struggle daily with absent or
incomplete facts and data within our own
organizations or in relation to communica-
tions from vendors and service suppliers.
Sometimes we can feel as if we’re running
around like chickens with our heads cut off,
trying to locate even one piece of timely and
accurate advice!
Is your organization experiencing situa-
tions in which people seem to be routinely
misinformed about how things work -- and
are thereby giving habitually incorrect guid-
ance to colleagues, clients, and customers?
Information gaps can cause profound rip-
ple effects in areas such as product and ser-
vice quality, communication, safety, morale,
and customer satisfaction, to name a few. So,
with regard to your own organization, ask
yourself:
Are employees stymied by missing, dis-
organized, or inaccurate information? Does
everyone constantly need to guess or impro-
vise the data, standards, schedules, or proce-
dures to do their jobs?
Are customers complaining about non-
existent or deficient product instructions or
about misleading, delayed, or incomplete
customer status updates?
If either answer is “yes,” look for ways to
close these gaps before they sap your busi-
ness!
Five Ways to Eliminate Information Gaps
1. Compile a complete set of current and
accurate procedures, standards, schedules,
facts, and data needed to do each type of job.
If your standards or regulations vary depend-
ing on the types of products you produce,
publish clear instructions on when and how
to apply them.
2. Be sure documentation libraries are
accessible and updated regularly. Maintain-
ing your libraries electronically -- either
online or in a database -- can streamline the
Local Perspectives 17
Photo by Zsuzsanna Kilian
process of modifying your documentation.
It also makes documents easy for employ-
ees, customers, or both to access with just a
few keystrokes. By requiring your personnel
to retrieve and use the latest official versions
immediately, you’ll avoid problems with out-
dated procedures that can cause waste or
confusion.
3. Overhaul any overly complex proce-
dures by simplifying, automating, or even
eliminating them. The simpler you can make
your processes, the better. That alone can
lead to higher quality and faster delivery, a
shorter learning curve for mastering a job
or using a product, and far greater employee
and customer satisfaction.
4. Give personnel access to job support
systems. Examples include printed job aids,
quick reference guides, online assistance,
or other reminders that people can refer to
quickly and conveniently -- whether they
work at a desk, workstation, lab, customer
site, or in the field.
5. Troubleshoot any clogged communica-
tions that may be delaying or distorting criti-
cal employee broadcasts. If everyone doesn’t
hear the same thing at the same time, a disor-
YOU CAN HELP
ganized reaction and poor morale can result.
This includes documenting and distributing
meeting summaries so that everyone knows
what decisions were made and who has
agreed to complete follow-up actions.
In conclusion, by systematically provid-
ing access to key information, you can avert CREATE THE BEST NEWSPAPER
potential disasters, bolster employee morale
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Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is a business perfor-
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She also guides organizations through “tactical
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Contact womenspress.slo@gmail.com for more details.
18 NOW News
This Page Presented by the
The purpose of NOW is to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society NOW !
Coordinator’s Corner
By Angie King
Where is the outrage? Why aren’t we out in
the streets! Haven’t things gotten bad enough
yet? Think of the bought-and-sold big cor-
poration money politics we now have: gov-
ernment by the highest bidder, plundering
for their own greed without regard for the
people they are supposed to represent. Think
of the degradation of the planet being done
in the name of consumerism and trade bal-
ances. Think of the wasted money in wars
and war machinery, when there are people
starving on the streets here at home, jobless,
homeless and hopeless.
Where are the Thomas Paines, the Dan-
iel Websters, Sojourner Truths, or Susan B.
Anthonys? Have we become so immersed in
iphones and Facebook accounts that no one
cares if democracy sinks into plutocracy?
Speaking of the war, the “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” policy (DADT) is still in place,
making gays and lesbians hide in the closet
if they want to serve in the military. Con-
gress passed the law in 1993, and Obama says
Congress has to repeal it, but, according to a
think tank specializing in research on gender,
sexuality, and the military, The Palm Cen-
ter in Santa Barbara, the law can be repealed
unilaterally by the President under an earlier
law that permits the commander in chief to
suspend any law relating to military promo-
tion, retirement, and separation. The “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell” law requires the military to
separate any openly gay member from mili-
tary service. It would seem to come within
the authority to suspend laws relating to sep-
Goals
• Support reproductive choice
• Work to eliminate all violence against
women
• Fight against sexual harassment
• Encourage tolerance and diversity
• Promote feminist issues
• Commemorate Roe v Wade (Jan 22)
• Celebrate Women’s Equality Day
(Aug 26)
• Participate in Farmer’s Market
• Support feminist politics
National Organization for Women
aration for Obama to do away with this odi-
ous discrimination against the military.
And it is discriminatory against women
disproportionately. Women have received
61% of the DADT discharges for the Air
Force even though they represent only 20%
of the branch; 36% of the Army’s, where they
are only 14% of the service; 23% of the Navy
discharges, where they are 18%; and 18% of
the Marines, where they are only 6 % of the
total force.
Why? According to the Palm Center
research, the disproportionately female “out-
ing” comes at least partly from the “macho”
culture of the military that sees women and
gays as a threat to the male identity. Often
the result of rebuffed sexual harassment is a
complaint that she is lesbian, leading to an
investigation of her sexual orientation.
And, we already know that 1 in 3 women
in the military has been sexually assaulted.
The “hotline” to report such assaults is a
24-hour message recording. The majority of
assaults are not even reported as it is another
case of “blame the victim” and the end of her
military career. Women have been reported
dying from dehydration rather than consume
liquids causing them to have to urinate after
dark, as the latrines are the scene of most
assaults.
Isn’t it time we spoke out against all this
outrage!! You can join NOW and take action!
Check out the website for things you can do:
now.org.
Start with attending a local NOW meet-
ing (see clip out info on this page) and come
to the Roe v Wade Town Hall and make your
voice heard for choice.
Women’s Press January & February 2010
Calendar
February 4:
• Birthday of Betty Friedan, 1921, first
president of NOW
January 1: February 11:
• Birthday of Betsy Ross, 1752 • Founding of first women’s college, Mt.
January 11: Holyoke, 1836
• Birthday of Alice Paul, 1885, author of February 12:
ERA • Founding NAACP, 1909
January 13: February 15:
• Birthday of Charlotte Ray, 1850, first • Birthday of Susan B. Anthony, 1820
black woman attorney in , admitted to February 16:
bar, 1872 • NOW regular meeting, 6 PM
January 18: February 17:
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrated • Birthday of Marian Anderson, 1902,
January 19: opera star
• NOW regular meeting, 6 PM February 18:
January 25: • Birthday of Toni Morrison, 1931, Pulit-
• Birthday of Virginia Woolf, 1882 zer winner, 1988
February is Black History Month February 21:
February 3: • Malcolm X assassinated, NYC, 1965
• Birthday of Gertrude Stein, 1874
NOW Chapter # CA 565
PO Box 1306, SLO, CA 93406
SLONOW @ kcbx.net
http://groups.myspace.com/~slonow
General Meetings
1060 Palm St., SLO
3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:00 pm
Get Involved — Join NOW!
San Luis Obispo Chapter
National Organization for Women
Every woman doesn’t have to join NOW,
just the 142 million who are discriminated against!
Name: _ ______________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________
City/St/ZIP: ___________________________________________
Phone: ________________________________________________
Regular Dues ….$40, Sliding Scale…..$15-39
Send your check and this form to Amount enclosed: _____________
PO Box 1306
SLO, CA 93406 Chapter # CA 565
slonow@kcbx.net
Women’s Press January & February 2010
Remembering Woodstock 40 years later – At the Intersection of Sexism
with an Eco-Feminist Twist and Racism – SisterSong
From the CA NOW web page:
A world class music event took place in
Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in Octo-
ber 2009 to commemorate the 40 years since
Woodstock, the biggest and most famous
music festival in the US, which took place
in upstate New York in 1969, in the driv-
ing rain. More than 50,000 people flooded
Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park in
much better weather than the original, to
hear such legendary Woodstock original acts
as Jefferson Starship, Country Joe McDon-
ald, Ray Manzarek (from The Doors), and
many more.
Echoing the revolutionary 60’s anti-war
gatherings that happened in the panhandle
of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the
West Fest: 40th Anniversary of Woodstock
was a celebration of exciting artists with new
ideals and a psychedelic nostalgia of the past.
The CA NOW and San Francisco chapter
of NOW in collaboration with West Fest,
Green Zone Productions, and Rock the Bike
presented a family friendly stage with world-
class acts, an off-the-grid, eco-friendly bike-
powered stage, amenities for children such as
a napping tent, free face painting, a crafting
tent, and much more.
The amplification for this music stage was
powered by women riding bicycles! “Our
eco-feminism bike-powered stage brings
attention to the relationship between femi-
nism and the earth,” explained Mona Lisa
Wallace, president of San Francisco NOW.
NOW itself turned 40 two years ago.
Aileen Hernandez, legendary feminist leader,
who served as NOW’s second president at
the time of Woodstock, spoke to the crowd
about NOW’s action plans to help heal the
earth. The current CA NOW president,
Patty Bellasalma, noted that NOW was born
out of the Woodstock generation and it was
a wonderful honor to take part in this truly
joyful celebration of 40 amazing years for
feminism.
“Pharmaceutical corporations, grocers,
coal, gas and chemicals all have their power-
ful armada of lobbyists,” she said in response
to the question of why feminism is valid forty
years later. “Women and girls have NOW;
we lobby in the interest of women and girls
in Washington and local legislatures. It is us
who you call if you want to bring attention
and funding to feminist issues; we strive to
give the grassroots a voice in how this coun-
try is run.”
A number of artists performed on the
CA NOW stage, including Pamela Barker,
Aradhana Silvermoon, WomenROCK, and
the Druid Sisters’ Tea Party dancers. As part
of NOW’s grassroots edutainment effort,
they widely distributed “herstory,” a rowdy
compilation music CD featuring: Goddess
Alchemy Project, Kim Manning, Aradhana
Silvermoon, Roots A’Risin’, Pamela Parker,
and Polly “RadWoman” Wood. The limited
production of herstory, an album released to
NOW members and the broader support-
ive community, celebrates women in music
addressing topics from menstruation to
Tupperware®.
For more information on bike-
power, visit RockTheBike.com. For more
information about “herstory,” visit
feministmusic.com.
By Angie King
At the rally in Washington DC held to pro-
test the inclusion of restrictive language
against abortion in the health care reform
bill, busloads of women were present
through the organizing efforts of SisterSong.
I had heard only vaguely of the group before
and knew it was a feminist activist organiza-
tion, but I really didn’t know much more.
This year is turning out to be a critical
juncture in the fight for progress for women
and once again, our bodies are on the line,
literally, with the abortion debate. Sister-
Song is an organization that understands
repression and discrimination. Founded in
1997 and based in Atlanta GA, SisterSong is
comprised of “women of color from many
cultures and orientations who may sing dif-
ferent songs yet we all sing the women’s song
in harmony, from the same score, on the
same sheet of music,” according to one of
the founders, Juanita Williams. Their motto
is “Doing Collectively What We Cannot Do
Individually.”
The mission of the SisterSong Women of
Color Reproductive Health Collective is to
“strengthen and amplify the collective voices
of Indigenous women and women of color
so that we may secure our human rights, and
thus achieve reproductive justice. We fight
equally for the right to bear – or not to bear
– a child, along with the subsequent and nec-
essary enabling conditions to realize these
rights.”
SisterSong represents five ethnic popula-
tions/indigenous nations in the U.S.: Native
American / Indigenous; Asian / Pacific
Islander; Arab American / Middle Eastern /
North African; Latina; and African American
/ Black / Caribbean / African. The Collective
has 80+ women of color member organiza-
tions and individuals, and hundreds of white
women and male allies who support our goal
of improving the lives of women of color.
NOW News 19
Photos by Sas Van Veen
They are one of the major proponents of
Reproductive Justice, the complete physical,
mental, spiritual, political, economic, and
social well-being of women and girls, which
will be achieved only when women and
girls have the economic, social, and political
power and resources to make healthy deci-
sions about our bodies, sexuality, and repro-
duction for ourselves, our families, and our
communities in all areas of our lives.
Isn’t that what we all want?
I say SisterSong is at the intersection
of sexism and racism, because SisterSong
is the only national coalition in the U.S. of
women of color organizations working to
ensure reproductive justice for communi-
ties of color. Constituent groups include
Asian Women’s Health Collective, Indige-
nous Women’s Health Clinics, Latina Health
Organization, Black Women’s Health Proj-
ect, and others.
Reproductive justice is essential to a wom-
an’s self-determination for herself, her family,
and her community. Regulating reproduc-
tive decisions of women of color is a central
aspect of racial, class, and gender oppres-
sion in the U.S. It results in the control and
exploitation of women and girls through our
bodies, our sexuality, and our labor.
SisterSong’s goal is to eliminate reproduc-
tive oppression. They are building a move-
ment that poses a strong, countervailing
moral and political vision to the hypocritical
“culture of life” framing promoted by those
opposed to women’s rights. Instead of focus-
ing on the means—a divisive debate on abor-
tion that neglects the real-life experiences of
women and girls—their reproductive jus-
tice analysis focuses on the ends: better
lives for women, healthier families, and
sustainable communities.
And, they are—apparently—doing very
well. For more information check out their
website: sistersong.net.
20 NOW News Women’s Press January & February 2010

Celebrate Women’s Right to Choice

Roe v Wade turns 36 years old!

YOU CAN HELP
Friday, January 22, 2010
CREATE THE BEST NEWSPAPER
SLO Public Library, 6 PM
Town Hall Discussion of Health Care Reform legislation ON THE CENTRAL COAST!
Once again, the National Organization for press time. But we do know that abortion Earn extra $$$ as an Advertising Rep
Women hosts our annual public event to has become the wedge – again!
highlight our core principle – support for
reproductive choice--and the current precari-
Hilda Zacaris, candidate for state Assem-
bly District 33 (Blakeslee’s old seat), has
Join the Staff of the Women’s Press
ous nature of women’s access to reproductive agreed to moderate the debate. Hilda knows We could always use help in many different areas!
rights, including the constitutionally pro- the issues; she is currently Executive Direc-
tected right to terminate a pregnancy. Clin- tor of the Santa Barbara Family Care Cen- Contact womenspress.slo@gmail.com for more details.
ics are still being attacked; doctors and staff ter, which serves to increase the quality and
are still killed for doing their job; and now quantity of childcare throughout Santa Bar-
it looks as if the wing nuts have captured the bara County, and she serves on the board of
health care reform bill debate to further their Planned Parenthood locally.
own social agenda of depriving women of After the discussion we will hold our
civil rights. traditional candlelight walk to honor the
Meet at the SLO library at 6 PM on Fri- women who died from illegal abortions and
day January 22, 2010 for an hour of lively then return to the library for networking and
conversation and debate about the merits of refreshments. The event is free and open to
the various state and federal bills being con- the public. We look forward to seeing you
sidered. Since the issue changes daily, we there!
don’t know the shape of any specific bill at

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• Creates a risk assessment and management program

For more information on Breast Thermogaphy:

www.centralcoastthermography.com or (805) 441-5557
Available at: Rees Family Medical and Central Coast Thermography
Women’s Press January & February 2010 Bulletins 21
Energy balancing sessions Evening of Education and Enlightenment: Feed the Homeless with the Homeschooling?
free of charge in San Luis Obispo Transgender Couples Speak Out Circle of Selfless Service Come join other Homeschoolers for some
The Global Alliance for Balance and Heal- Ever wondered what it might be like to be The Circle of Selfless Service is in need of social fun, weekly get-togethers and field
ing is offering free energy balancing sessions happily married and then find out your hus- Volunteers to prepare and/or serve meals to trips. We want to hear your ideas!
on Saturday, January 16 from 11:00am to band or wife was miserable in his/her life as a the homeless at the Maxine Lewis Shelter Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
4:00pm. man or woman? What happens when a mar- and Prado Day Center in San Luis Obispo. SanluisObispohomeschoolers/
The free clinic will be held at Sierra Vistaried heterosexual couple “becomes” a gay This is truly a “feel-good” experience which
Hospital in the Auditorium, 1010 Murray couple, or vice-versa? What are the social, greatly benefits the needy in our community.
Avenue, San Luis Obispo. Parking is best in legal and emotional effects on the family as Volunteering is a wonderful way to be a part
the outpatient parking lot (on the west side they adapt to such a radical change? of your community and give back.
and then go through the second entrance These are some of the issues we will be Please call to offer your services and/or
sliding glass doors). Once you enter the exploring on February 6, 2010 at the Uni- for more information.
doors, turn right and then left into the audi- tarian Universalist Fellowship, 2074 Parker Contact person: Susan Wood, Man-
torium. Sessions are 25 minutes in duration St., SLO at 4:30 PM. The evening will start ager for the “Circle of Selfless Service” at
and no appointment is necessary. All are wel- with a potluck dinner at 5:00 PM, followed the Circle of Spiritual Enlightenment: 805-
come. by a viewing of the film, Normal, with Jes- 771-9706, susan@susanwoodlifecoach.com,
Visit www.globalalliance.ws or call 805- sica Lange and Tom Wilkinson, at 6:00 PM. http://www.spiritualcircle.org/
438-4347 to learn about energy balancing or After the film, a panel of two transgender
other offerings from the Global Alliance for couples, along with Dr. Denise Taylor, a local
Balance and Healing. physician treating many transgender indi- Where to find Women’s Press
For more information or to coordinate a viduals, will address some of the many issues All Libraries and the following exceptionally fine establishments!
clinic in your area, e-mail Wendy McKenna affecting transgender couples.
at wendy@globalalliance.ws. Please join us for this evening of enlight- • NORTH COUNTY: Atascadero – The Coffee House and Deli, Starbuck’s at Von’s
enment and education. Bring a potluck dish Plaza, Green Goods, Player’s Pizza, Harvest Health Food Store, North County
to share and your own place setting and Connection, Senior Center, Women’s Resource Center/Shelter Office, Curves. Paso
Lighten Up Your Body, Lighten Up Your Life Robles – Cuesta College North Campus, Café Vio, Curves, DK Donuts, Panolivo
6 week series facilitated by Dorothy Segovia utensils. Drinks will be provided. An offering French Cafe, NCI Village Thrift Shop, Paso Robles Health Foods; Templeton – Twin
certified Life & Visioning(R) Coach will be taken to offset the cost of showing the Cities Hospital, Templeton Market & Deli, Affinity Chiropractic, Kinship Center,
January 19 - Feb 23 7pm - 9pm movie. Contact Gina Whitaker (gwhitaker@ Jobella’s Coffee; Santa Margarita– Santa Margarita Mercantile.
Based on the book by Dr. Lucia Capac- ginanken.com) or Kari Graton (karigraton@ • NORTHERN COAST: Baywood – Coffee & Things; Cambria – Cambria
chione, this series will explore playful Cre- yahoo.com) for further info. Connection, Cambria Pines Lodge, Chamber of Commerce, Gym One, Azevedo
ative Journal tools for reclaiming the body Chiropractic, Lilly’s, Alloco’s, Cambria Drug and Gift, Bob & Jan’s Bottle Shop,
Writer’s Workshop Linn’s, Donna’s Nail Salon, Cookie Crock, Rainbow Bean and Coffee Shop;
and how we feel about our bodies! Cayucos – Cayucos Super Market, Kelley’s EsPresso & Dessert, Ocean Front Pizza,
Being comfortable in your body has to do Join us for the writer’s workshop “Book Pub- Chevron Station, Mobile Balloons; Los Osos – Starbuck’s, Baywood Laundry, Cad’s,
with loving your whole self - now - exactly as lishing 1-2-3: From the Writer’s Fingers to the Carlock’s Bakery, Chamber of Commerce, Copa de Oro, Garden Café, Los Osos
you are! Reader’s Hands.” We’ll take a behind-the- Deli Liquor, Volumes of Pleasure; Morro Bay – Backstage Salon, Coalesce Bookstore,
You’ll learn how to transform your beliefs scenes glimpse at how a manuscript becomes Coffee Pot Restaurant, The Rock, Southern Port Traders, Sunshine Health Foods, Two
and allow your true, joyful self to emerge. a printed book, including the major steps Dogs Coffee, La Parisienne Bakery.
$150.00 for 6 weeks (Includes book) within a publishing house. A longtime pro- • SAN LUIS OBISPO: Broad St. Laundry, Cool Cats Café, La Crepes, Edna Market,
To register call: the Be Well Center at 805 fessional editor will describe the process, Booboo Records, Creekside Center, GALA, Marigold Nails, Palm Theatre, Susan
460-9907 and share tips to help writers improve their Polk Insurance, Utopia Bakery, Unity Church, Zoe Wells, Naturopath, Cal Poly
For more information, classes at the Be chances of getting published, e.g., ideas for Library and Women’s Center, Center for Alternatives to Violence, Chamber of
Commerce, Cuesta College Library, EOC Health Services Clinic, HealthWorks,
Well Center visit www.bewellliving.net finding literary agents. Other highlights Healing Alternatives, Laguna Laundry, Linnaea’s, Monterey Express, Natural Foods
For more information about Dorothy include quick creativity exercises and our Coop, New Frontiers, Nautical Bean, Outspoken Beverage Bistro, Phoenix Books,
Segovia and the Creative Journal method “Ask the Editor” Q&A session! Planned Parenthood, West End Espresso & Tea, San Luis Obispo Housing Authority
visit www.writeinside.com Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the confer- Office, SARP, The Secret Garden, SLO Perk Coffee, Spirit Winds Therapy, The
ence room of the San Luis Obispo Library Studio Fitness for Women, Uptown Cafe, Yoga Centre, Ahshe Hair Salon, Apropos
Perfect Pairings Fund Raiser (995 Palm St.). $10; each person will receive Clothing, Soho Hair Salon, Hempshak, YMCA, KCBX, Salon on Monterey, Jaffa
Café, Med Stop (Madonna Plaza), World Rhythm and Motion, Steynberg Gallery,
All benefits go to the Literacy Council for a free, professional review of five (5) double- Correa Chiropractic, High St. Deli, Sunset N. Car Wash, Jamaica You, United Blood
San Luis Obispo County spaced pages of writing (hard copy).
Laurie Gibson, presenter, has edited and Services.
Speed Dating for adults 45 and up • SOUTH COUNTY: Arroyo Grande – Mongo’s, Act II Boutique, Central Coast
January 31, 2010, 2:00pm to 6:00pm proofread nearly 200 books, including novels
Yoga, CJ’s Restaurant, Curves-AG, Cutting Edge, EOC Health Services Clinic, Girls
We especially need men to sign-up. Goal: such as The Color Purple (Alice Walker) and Restaurant, Grande Whole Foods, Chameleon; Avila Beach– Avila Grocery, Custom
30 men and 30 women. Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf ), short story House, Sycamore Hot Springs, Inn at Avila, Joe Mamma’s; Grover Beach – Back
$60.00 per person. $35.00 tax-deductible collections such as Tales from Margaritaville Door Deli, Cindi’s Wash House, Nan’s Pre-owned Books, Therapeutic Body Center,
Talley Vineyards 3031 Lopez Drive, (Jimmy Buffett), and numerous titles by 30-minute Fitness; Halcyon – Halcyon Store; Nipomo – Anna’s Creekside Coffee
Arroyo Grande Brian Tracy, the bestselling business author. House, Healing Touch Spa, Curves, La Placita Market, Healthy Inspirations, World
Gym, Trendy Sister Salon, Senior Centers; Pismo Beach – Honeymoon Café, Pismo
Contact: Joe McLaughlin or Bernadette She also works with first-time authors to help Athletic Club, RETurn to JOY!; Shell Beach – De Palo & Sons Deli, Seaside Cafe,
Bernardi improve their writing (and their chances of
getting published). Steaming Bean.
805-541-4219 or www.sloliteracy.org • SANTA MARIA: Café Monet, Hunter’s Landing, Library, Curves on Main and on
For more info. about “Book Publishing
1-2-3,” contact the presenter at (858) 635-1233 Broadway, Lassen’s.
• ORCUTT: Loading Dock, Oasis Spa.
or eaglet5223@mypacks.net
22 Resources
SIGN
Continued from page 11
tions became possible and labor beds which
convert into a variety of positions were
adopted. Babies who weren’t drugged in
labor could latch-on and nurse immediately
after birth and did not need bottles and for-
mula; La Leche League and the breastfeed-
ing movement began. Now hospitals have
lactation consultants on staff. Women who
had not received medications and/or surgery
could immediately begin to care for their
infants and rooming-in became the norm;
only infants who need special care go to
nurseries now, so they look like ghost towns.
None of these changes were begun from
within the system; they came about through
consumer demand on the system, though all
along the way nurses, certified nurse mid-
wives, and a few doctors listened to their cli-
ents and ultimately were the ones to bring
about change within the system.
Here are some of the changes I have seen
locally in the twenty years since I became a
doula. When I was pregnant with my son,
there were two hospitals to choose from in
San Luis Obispo: General Hospital, which
was known for being more pro-natural
birth and Sierra Vista, which had just gone
through a dramatic physical renovation to
create less “hospitally” looking rooms where
a mom could stay throughout her time in the
hospital. You had two choices of care pro-
viders who supported a natural birth, Dr.
Lickness or the Certified Nurse Midwives
working for Dr. Johnson and Dr. Richards.
Kathleen Huggins had published her “Nurs-
ing Mother’s Companion” and begun the
Breastfeeding Warm Line, which dramati-
cally increased our county’s breastfeeding
rate. Did you want to try to birth vaginally
after a cesarean? Talk to Dr. Clutter; eventu-
ally all the doctors in town would “allow” a
woman to try for a V-BAC. At General Hos-
pital the nurses worked hard to achieve the
World Health Organizations “Baby Friendly”
status and later with the help of the nurse
midwives, Linda Seeley, Midday Johnson,
and Lisa Winnick, and Dr. Spalding as they
began doing water births.
At French hospital the nurses worked
with the anesthesiologists to find a level of
medication, which will give adequate pain
control and leave the mom able to be more
of an active participant during pushing.
Sierra Vista increased the level of care they
could provide for seriously ill newborns so
moms and babies could stay together in the
county instead of being flown to bigger hos-
pitals. Many beliefs about standard safety
Women’s Press January & February 2010
ABUSE La Clinica De Tolosa 238.5334
Adults Molested as Children Support La Leche League
489.9128
Group (AMAC) Rape Survivors Support
Group, SLO Migrant Childcare Program
Support Group for Sexual Assault 544.4355 and 466.3444
procedures have changed too, such as, when Survivors MOMS Club of South SLO county
I had my son, I was continuously on the 545.8888 473.2548; www.southslomomsclub.org
baby heart monitor, but now even the Amer- Center for Alternatives to Domestic Partnership for Children
ican College of Obstetricians and Gynecolo- Violence 541.8666; ask for Beth
gists agree that fifteen minutes out of every 781.6406 Real F.A.C.T.S. (Forum on Abused
hour is adequate for picking up a baby who’s North County Women’s Shelter & Children)
in trouble. Doulas became more common Resource Center, 460.9016
in the county, and I personally felt more (inc. domestic violence support groups) Social Services
accepted as part of an over all team working 461.1338 781.1600
to achieve the most positive birth possible for SARP (Sexual Assault Recovery & Support for Kids Coping with
my clients. Each of these changes and many Prevention) Domestic Violence
others started small, one doctor saying yes or 545.8888 or 800.656.HOPE (4673) 473.6507
nurse saying I’ve never seen that done before, Women’s Shelter Program of SLO EMERGENCY/CRISIS
but if it’s what you want. . . 781.6401 www.womensshelterslo.org
Hotline
None of these changes happened without ADDICTIONS www.slohotline.org 800.549.8989
push back from the established system. The AA Meeting Sexual & Rape Prevention (SARP)
stakes are high. The business of birth is big 541.3211 545.8888 or 800.656.HOPE (4673)
money. The fear of litigation is all too real. Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) Temporary Restraining Order
And now, 20 years since my son was born, 498.2176 & Victim Witness
things have changed. And not for the bet- Al-Anon Program 781.5821
ter. My birth class clients have had doctors 534.9204
throw their birth plans across the room. I Cambria Connection (12 step support)
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
sat in a doctor’s office and heard him tell my 927.1654 A.D.A.P.T. (Aid in Divorce Adjustment
Problems Today)
doula client that “natural” birth was all very Casa Solana
well, but it wasn’t optimal. Both our hospi- Women’s Recovery Home 481.8555
543.0388
Alzheimer/Dementia Resource Center
tals currently refuse to “allow” women to Chemical Dependency intensive 800.443.1236
birth in water. Now because of space issues, outpatient program Alzheimer’s Association
dads aren’t always able to stay with moms 541-9113 547.3830
and babies after their births at our hospitals. Compulsive Eaters Anonymous, H.O.W. CALL–Concerned Agoraphobics
I listened to a birth professional tell a group Concept Learning to Live
of women that Bradley classes teach women 546.1178 www.ceahow.org
Drug & Alcohol Services 543.3764
not to trust their care provider, but I believe 781.4275 Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA)
it is a birth educator’s responsibility to teach Narcotics Anonymous 542.0577 (SLO) 481.5093 (Grover
women to trust themselves and to trust birth, 549.7730 and 800.549.7730 Beach)
and it is the care provider’s responsibility to Overeaters Anonymous 927.1654 (Cambria) 466.8600 (North
foster a trusting relationship with their cli- 541.3164 County)
ent. Sierra Vista asks doulas to sign a paper SCA, SLAA & SAA (Sex, Love & Romance Community Counseling Center
agreeing to do little else than bring ice chips Addictions) 543.7969
and hold a woman’s hand. These days many 461.6084 Dealing With Divorce
women don’t want to actually feel birth, for TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 544.9313
our society is too accustomed to medicat- 929.1789 www.tops.org Depresson and Bipolar Support
ing our pain away. Add to that our culture’s Women for Sobriety Alliance Group
obsession with scheduling our lives and we 215.536.8026 www.womenforsobriety.org 927.3703
get inductions and planned cesareans. Mean- Divorce Discussion Group
while our hospitals’ cesarean section rates are
CHILDREN & FAMILIES 489.2990, saintbarnabas@sbcglobal.net
Eating Disorders Support Group
climbing as is our premature birth rate as Birth and Baby Resource Center
too many babies are being “scheduled” to be 546.3755 www.bbrn.org
546-3774; free, meets weekly in SLO
Childcare Resource Connection Project Lifesaver
born too early. 548.0909 www.projectlifesaverofslo.org
541.2272 or 800.727.2272
So this sign on a hospital’s maternity ward Court Appointed Special Advocates Safe and Sober Support Group
door doesn’t surprise me but it does sadden (CASA) 473.6507
me to see that the things women and their “A child’s voice in Court in SLO County” St. Barnabas (Depression/Divorce/
partners, nurses, doctors, and midwives have 541.6542 Grief)
worked so hard to achieve in moving birth in Children’s Services Network 489.2990 www.stbarnabas.ag.org
our country toward a more humane, family 781.1847 Talk/Listen - Emotional support
centered experience grounded in the belief First 5: Children & Families 489.5481
that women are created with the power in Commission Transformations Counseling Center
them to birth their babies is being eroded. 781.4058; ask for Susan Hughs Free monthly workshops 541.7908
Homeschooling in SLO County (HSC)
462.0726; ask for Barbara
Women’s Press January & February 2010
FINANCE/BUSINESS
Consumer Credit Counseling Services
800.540.2227
GAY & LESBIAN
Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the
Central Coast
541.4252
PFLAG.Parents & Friends of Lesbians &
Gays
438.3889
SOL (Single Older Lesbians)
Mostly socializing! Call 474.9405
HOSPICE
Hospice of SLO County, AIDS
Bereavement Group
544.2266 and 434.1164 Enhancement, Inc. (for breast cancer
Hospice Partners of the Central Coast survivors)
782.8608
JOBS/CAREERS
AARP
788.2643
Cal Poly Foundation
Jobline 756.7107 www.
calpolyfoundation.org
Cal Poly University
http://calpolyjobs.org 756.1533
Cuesta College
http://www.cuesta.edu Jobline 546.3127
The Creekside Career Center
788.2600 or 237.3014 www.slocareers.
org
Department of Rehabilitation
549.3361
Mission Community Services
Corporation
Women’s Business Partners
595.1357 www.mcscorp.org
Private Industry Council (PIC)
www.jobhunt.org 788.2601
LEGAL
California Rural Legal Assistance
544.7994
Core Mediation Services
544.6334 medeee8@aol.com
District Attorney’s Office – Victim
Witness Center
781.5821
Family Law Facilitator
788.3418
Lawyer Referral and Information
Service
541.5502
Pro Per Divorce Workshop
544.9313
Senior Legal Services
543.5140
MEDICAL SUPPORT/SERVICES
ALS Support Group (Lou Gehrig’s
Disease)
227.4785 or 674.4162
Alzheimer’s Support
547.3830, 534.9234 (SLO/Los Osos)
888.488.6555
American Cancer Society
San Luis Obispo 543.1481, 238.9657
Templeton 434.3051
Anorexia Nervosa & Bulimia Support
Group
541.9113
Arthritis Foundation
892.5556
Cancer/ Breast Cancer Support Groups
543.1481 ext. 3 for information
Caregivers of Aging Parents
543.7969
Celiac Disease Support Group
226.9893
Endometriosis Association
www.endometriosisassn.org
771.8640 www.enhancementinc.com
EOC Health Services Clinics
no or low cost reproductive health
services
544.2478 (SLO); 489.4026 (Arroyo
Grande)
Healthworks of the Central Coast
No or low cost reproductive health
services
542.0900
Hearst Cancer Resource Center
542.6269
IC Interstitial Cystitis/Painful
Bladder Syndrome
3rd Thursday, SLO, 7 -9 pm 464-0564
Long-term Care Ombudsman Services of
SLO County
785.0132
Lymphedema Education & Support
Group
2nd Monday, 4-5 pm, 782-9300
Parkinson’s Support Groups
466.7226 (Atascadero/Templeton)
481.7424 (Arroyo Grande)
541.8633 (SLO)
Planned Parenthood
SLO 549.9446
Stroke Support Group
471.8102 (SLO)
Caregivers of Stroke Survivors
544.2266 (SLO)
Women’s Support/Therapy v (general)
534.1101
Women’s Healthcare Specialists
544.4883
POLITICAL
Code Pink
www.codepinkslo.org; ososousaville@
charter.net
Commission on Status of Women
545.8412; Dawn Williams
Democratic Women United
541.4252
League of Women Voters
543.2220
Resources 23
NOW (National Organization for North County Women’s Resource
Women) Center, Shelter
www.kcbx.net/~slonow/ 461.1338
slonow@kcbx.net Prado Day Center (for the homeless)
786.0617 www.pradodaycenter.org
READERS/WRITERS Women’s Community Center, SLO
Adult Literacy 544.9313
541-4219 Women’s Shelter Program of SLO
Creative Writing Group 549.8989 (crises), 781.6401 (business)
748-2676; contact Gloria www.womensshelterslo.org
Nightwriters
549.9656; contact Shirley Powell OTHER WOMEN’S
Sisters in Crime
http://SinC-CCC.blogspot.com
ORGANIZATIONS
Altrusa International, Inc.
SENIORS 481.1039; Cici Wynn, President
Adult Day Care American Association of University
Women
489.8894 (Arroyo Grande);
434.2081 (Templeton); 927.4290 781-0922 Karen www.aauw.org
(Cambria) Camping Women
440.2723 www.campingwomen.org
Adult Protective Services
781.1790 Hadassah.SLO
543.9452
Computerooters:
Computer help: 489.6230 OTHER GROUPS &
Department of Social Services:
GATHERINGS
In-Home Support 781.1790
Nursing help for the terminally ill Central Coast Peace and
781.5540 Environmental Council
Elder and Dependent Adult Advocacy 544.3399 or 783.2383
and Outreach – Victim Witness Compassion & Choices (or Final Exit)
Assistance Center 800.247.7421 or 489-5481
781-5821
Elder Law, Geraldine E. Champion,
Attorney
473.4747
Foster Grandparents.Senior
Companions
782.9200
Senior Ballroom Dance club
489.5481 dg17@juno.com
Senior Peer Counseling
Free, trained in.home counseling for 60+
547.7025 ext. 15
SPIRITUAL
Circle of Spiritual Enlightenment
541.1963; www.spiritualcircle.org
Awakening Interfaith Spiritual
Community
Please send additions, corrections or
Meditation Monday evenings 7-8 pm
deletions to: womenspress.slo@gmail.
Open to all. 772-0306
com or leave a message at the WCC:
awakeninginterfaith.org
Hungry Hearts Spiritual Community 805.544.9313. Last update 12/28/09.
RC liturgy with womanpriest 546.8672
Meditation Group
Mondays, 7:30–8:30 PM; 772.0306
New Beginnings Church
Every Sunday, Coalesce Bookstore, MB
Self-Realization Fellowship
Sunday Services 995-1599
WOMEN’S CENTERS/SHELTERS
Homeless Shelter
781-3993
Housing Authority
543.4478