happy_holidays amalthea a couple minutes ago i was going to type in under the blather 'rape'- "the haunting pain that gnaws at the world's view of sexual equality" but of course, the only thing i can say is that i have not experienced this, and how can i try to link it with adjectives that i think fit best i am a volunteer at a youth hotline, and during our training a woman came to speak to us who had been kidnapped in the laundry room of her apartment complex by two strangers, and raped several times. she escaped by running from their car across a divided highway into a truck repair shop, where she had to convince the workers to use their phone. she was so strong, she was a survivor, not a victim, as she told us. the day before that a woman came to tell us about her experiences with domestic violence, how her husband threw her through a window and cracked her ribs because an old friend had unexpectedly dropped by to see her. the day after the math dean at the college (the survivor of rape) spoke to us a gay man and woman told us their life stories, how their families had turned away from them and the phrase "how could you do this to me?" filled their days. so now when i think about all my problems, my adjustment disorder, my attention defecit disorder, my anxiety/depression that makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning, i think about these people who give me so much hope and reason to live and to answer phone calls and to smile when i wake up, when i greet every stranger i meet, and when i fall asleep at night actually wanting tomorrow to begin. thank you! so all this does have a point, other than being a long-hard-day-must-vent soliliqy (sp?) i am wishing all here at blather a very happy holiday season, and a huge warm fuzzy!! 001222 ... carlita quite a depressing thing to associate with happy_holidays 030723 what's it to you? who go blather from