"…in the real world…"  ™
a column by Gail Paparian 

 Who We Are

 Years ago, I was a very good athlete. It was part natural ability coupled with hours of practice. It didn’t matter what the sport: baseball, bowling, stickball, field hockey, basketball or tennis. I played. I practiced. I competed. I never stopped, even when my hands were raw and blistered.

It worried my poor mother. Oh, she was concerned with all of the scrapes, bruises and injuries… not merely because she was fearful about my health, she was deeply worried that I would never have a social life!

 “How do you expect to get a date for the senior prom,” she lamented. “How are you ever going to find a husband if you beat the boys in sports all the time?” The poor woman was forever distraught. Well, I did have a date for the prom; I went to college on a scholarship and have been happily married for the last thirty years.

 I think that women and men should have the right to choose—EVERYTHING. I have no patience with people who espouse their opinions then do not register to- and then vote: preferably informed. My favorite board game used to be Monopoly until our then ten-year old grandson routinely bested me. I have replaced that game with the ever-changing game of politics.

 While I remain fiercely political, I am not a supporter of any political party. My stint as president of League of Women Voters of the Coachella Valley provided me with skills and tools to conduct non-partisan informational forums. Personally, I want to vote on issues, integrity and specifics. Maybe one day we can bang all the partisan heads together and start all over again!

 With this column as a venue, I hope to cover issues of importance to me and other thinking women and men in and around The Valley. For instance, each person who enters the hospital should have a patient advocate. When searching for a doctor, particularly a surgeon, make sure to interview more than one. There is something fundamentally wrong with spending hours selecting an outfit for an event, and only moments on the qualifications of a person you are asking to cut you open!

 Another obsession of mine is … water… I can probably make it to the end of my life without suffering from loss of drinking or bathing water. If anyone in the high-water-using Coachella Valley tells you “we have enough water for the next 150 years,” ask for verification.

 While passions change with age and stamina, I support an environment where more qualified women are able to run for and be elected to public office. Donna Reed and Robert Young’s television shows portrayed idyllic families where it was never questioned that “a woman’s place was in the home.”  Today, with people achieving a bit more forward thinking, a call to action has become, “a woman’s place is in the house- or senate.”

 Join me each month as I tilt at windmills and view life. “…in the real world…”

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