We can do it!
Most of you will remember J. Howard Miller’s iconic WWII poster of Rosie the Riveter. It is one of the 10 most-requested images at the National Archives and Records Administration, and is still used (mostly by feminists and advertisers) to inspire and empower women to do whatever they can imagine, to create the life they want.
Linda Clark, our October/November Marvelous! Woman, inspired our use of Rosie and her message in this issue. When Linda ignored her doctor’s annual warnings about the impending onset of diabetes, and left his office a year ago with a prescription in hand for diabetes medicine, she sat in her car and cried. And then she thought, I can do it! She lost 52 pounds in a year and threw away her medication. She’ll tell you how she did it.
Our Marvelous! Voices essay is from Pat Durmon, poet and cancer survivor, who found a lump in her breast during her regular self-examination. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, of course, and Pat’s essay, and the lovely poem she shares with us, will inspire you to get your yearly mammogram and do your monthly self-exams. We can do it. We can help more women survive breast cancer.
October 20-24 is National Business Women’s Week, observed locally by Mountain Home Business and Professional Women. Every year they celebrate a local woman who inspires others with her commitment to service, and this year they named Jan Peitz Woman of the Year. You’ll find info about the week in an ad in this issue. We hope you’ll join us and find the confidence you need to do whatever is in your own dreams.
At the magazine, we receive story ideas every week about the many marvelous women in Arkansas, women who make things happen. Small kindnesses, gigantic undertakings, it doesn’t matter. We are marvelous in our own ways. We can’t possibly get to every story, so we asked our readers to submit essays about the marvelous women they know. You’ll meet Charisse Childers, who graces our cover, Teresa Wehmeyer, a cancer survivor, our own graphic designer Sarah Knight, and many others. If you don’t know yet that you can do it, they will inspire you to try.
Together, we can do it! M! October/November 2014
Deb Peterson
Publisher, Editor
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