CHANGE FROM BELOW: FORMING A WOMEN’S CAUCUS

by Carla Lofberg Valenta If the executive offices of the company where you work have the aspect of a “men’s club,” then it is not very likely that any “affirmative action” will originate from within the “club.” For it is the...
Couples: Alone again—unnaturally

Couples: Alone again—unnaturally

“Inseparable.” That describes my husband and me—the public image and, better yet, the private reality. So why were we separated nine months last year? Why eight months in store this year? Why, subtracting it all up, has nearly half of our five-year...
WHY DO THE ‘NICE’ PEOPLE REMAIN SILENT?

WHY DO THE ‘NICE’ PEOPLE REMAIN SILENT?

A family—a “nice” family—is out for a walk in the park. They stroll by a Cinco de Mayo fiesta noisily underway. Without breaking stride, the parents—“nice” people, really—glance at each other. One of them raises an eyebrow and murmurs, “Different, aren’t they?” The...
EXCUSE ME, BUT WERE YOU IN VIETNAM?

EXCUSE ME, BUT WERE YOU IN VIETNAM?

Washington, D.C. After great pain, a formal feeling comes. — Emily Dickinson It was with commemoration in mind that I attended the unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Thought the war’s validity is contested still, and though I myself did some of the...
A LITTLE RESPECT FOR THE DREAD, PLEASE

A LITTLE RESPECT FOR THE DREAD, PLEASE

My husband, commanding officer of a U.S. warship, has returned from operations in the “tanker war” in the Persian Gulf. His purpose there was defense and deterrence. While he was away, I too became involved in defense and deterrence here on the home front: I found...