Women I would have liked to have known

Anne Frank -  She is probably the most recognizable name in the entire world.   A young girl that died long before her time, who has left an imprint on more people that I would say has anyone since.   Here was a girl, not even an adult yet, who truly believed in the beauty of all people, even though she was placed in an environment to believe anything but.    I say this in all seriousness that she's the type of woman that I would have liked to have fallen in love with and a sense of who she is through values and morals is something I look for in women.   When I started dating Melissa and seeing just how good and genuine of a person she was,  in a way she sort of reminded me of the demeanor of Anne Frank.   Granted she would've been 56 when I was born had she lived, but I'm talking had we been contemporaries.    What's sad here to me is that only through her death do I even know anything about her to begin with.   I mean if she were alive,  her diary never would have gotten out like it did and neither I nor the world would know who Anne Frank was.    I think the lesson to be learned here is that we should value what we can learn from another person, regardless of their status.   Most recognizable name in the world or not, she clearly had a beautiful vision that so many others are too blind to see.

Dian Fossey - If you can't tell already, I highly admire people who are full of deep passion and immense love.  Fossey's love for animals, in particular gorillas, was second to none.  She valued their lives as much or even more than most of us do human lives.   For those of you that are not familiar with her, her passion for gorillas mirrors that of Steve Irwin's for crocodiles.  She was truly a beautiful woman who had the courage to take on the black market trade of killing and selling gorilla parts.  She gave her life to protect and stand up for the animals that she loved.   Who wouldn't want an opportunity to meet a remarkable woman like that?

The Fabulous Moolah - Lilian Erickson was a pioneer in the wrestling business.  She wasn't the first woman to step into the squared circle, but she was the best.   If any inspiring female who dreams of being in the ring doesn't know who the Fabulous Moolah is, she ought to be slapped upside the head and told she can't come back until she finds out.   If it wasn't for the Fabulous Moolah,  then women in the business of professional wrestling never would have gotten their fair shake.   It's a shame that in today's society women are still often seen as nothing more than sex symbols and eye candy, but because of Moolah  women like Natalia Neidhart and Beth Phoenix get to prove that they can perform and wrestle just as well as the men.  As tough as they come inside the ring and a true lady outside of it,  Moolah is a woman I would have liked to have known.

Gilda Radner -  I was introduced to Gilda Radner about 14 years after her death.   I was over at my friend Derek Snakenberg's house when he mother Nancy was watching old reruns of SNL, "the best of Gilda Radner".    I couldn't believe how funny this woman was.  While Nicole Sullivan, Roseanne Barr and Sarah Silverman are all funny in their own right,  I don't know if any of them hold a candle to Radner.   I've always enjoyed being around funny people.  I think I would've enjoyed meeting her.

Rosa Parks - Courage is an admirable trait and I can't think of too many people who displayed it more than she did.  It's sad to me that as long as people have been around, that she even had to do what she did in the first place.   We have advanced so much technologically that we are light years ahead of where we were 60 years ago.  Hell, we are light years ahead of where we were 20 years ago.  Why is it that morally and ethically we are no further than we were hundreds of years ago?   In some ways, sure we are but racism and discrimination exist just as prevalent today as they did yesterday.  The only difference is they're more subtle and indirect than what they were.   I would have liked to have met Parks and spoken with her on these matters.  I would have liked to have had the opportunity to pick her brain and learn from such a remarkable woman.

Sally Ride - I really wish Ride was still around today.  I think that while the Gay and Lesbian community has a lot of strong representation it could use a face like Sally Field leading it.  It's sad that we live in a world where homosexuals have to consistently prove themselves in so many ways.   They have to prove themselves equal to us heterosexuals in every way that a person can prove themselves.   They have to show that they too are good people, that they too are intelligent, that they too contribute to society.    I'm almost ashamed to say that I exist in a world that is still very discriminative towards homosexuals.   Ride from what I know of her was a very intelligent woman, who had a rare gift of being gifted on both sides of her brain (she was a Physics and English major in college).   Not only did she excel at math and science, but she was also good at speaking and articulating herself.  Her achievements as an astronaut speak for themselves.   It saddens me a great deal the number of people who degrade her accomplishments because they don't agree with her lifestyle.  I would have liked to have met her.