Albert Lea branch of AAUW, American Association of University Women

12/26/2025

10/20/2025

RECORD-BREAKING YEAR 🐢 Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch said it was a successful year for both loggerhead and green sea turtles, which had a record-breaking number of nests recorded on the island. https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/nearly-30000-turtles-hatched-on-anna-maria-island-this-year-conservation-group-says/

10/20/2025

Very few honest conservatives still exist.

10/19/2025

09/11/2025

New Mexico has become the first state in the country to guarantee universal child care. Families residing in the state will be eligible for free child care for infants and toddlers starting Nov. 1, no matter their incomes - with no co-pays. https://abc7.com/17786810/

07/05/2025

07/05/2025

07/05/2025

In an era when Hollywood carefully scripted every image, someone captured a moment the studios couldn’t spin: Mae West, the queen of boldness, walking beside a Black man—Albert “Chalky” Wright.

He wasn’t an extra. He wasn’t just a chauffeur. He was her confidant, her protector—and, perhaps, her love.

Mae West didn’t ask permission to love out loud. When her apartment building refused to let Chalky visit because of his skin color, she didn’t write letters or stage a protest—she bought the entire building. That was Mae: power in pearls, rebellion in red lipstick.

Chalky, a boxing champion, stood by her not for fame but for loyalty. He shielded her from scandal, protected her from harm, and stayed out of the spotlight, even as their bond defied the rules of race, status, and fame.

Mae West didn’t just rewrite the roles for women in film—she rewrote what it meant to love boldly, live freely, and never let the world decide what was “appropriate.”

Their story wasn’t a scandal.
It was a revolution—with no script, no approval, and no apologies.


~ The Two Pennies

07/05/2025

One big broken promise. Congress has passed a bill that threatens to roll back decades of progress in education, equity, and women’s rights. By slashing financial aid, eliminating key student loan programs, and defunding health care, this legislation will shut the doors of opportunity for millions — especially women, low-income families, and communities of color. For AAUW, this fight is personal.
👉 Read our statement: https://www.aauw.org/resources/news/media/press-releases/a-big-broken-promise-to-americas-students-and-women/

07/05/2025

Behind every drowsy human is a cat making sure they don’t go to the bathroom unsupervised. 🤣😼

07/05/2025

She was dismissed as a sidekick, eye candy, a punchline. Then her husband dumped her on national television. Most would have crumbled. Cher rebuilt.

From a 16-year-old dropout with $5 in her pocket to a genre-defying legend, Cher didn’t just navigate fame—she rewrote its rules. Every era tried to put her in a box. She burned the box down in sequins and stilettos.

They thought her story ended with a breakup. Instead, she delivered solo hits, earned an Oscar for Moonstruck, and redefined what aging, artistry, and resilience could look like. From disco to auto-tune, she shapeshifted through sound and style—outlasting trends, critics, and even the men who once claimed the spotlight.

Behind the glamour was grit: a mother who stood by her transgender son, a woman who raised her voice when it mattered, and a survivor who turned pain into power.

Cher didn’t just survive pop culture. She conquered it—and dares the rest of us to keep up.


~ The Two Pennies

07/05/2025

On the morning of August 28, 1985, Ruth Gordon awoke in her Martha’s Vineyard home—a place where the breeze was gentle, and the porch chair remembered her shape. She was 88, sharp as ever, and quietly defiant against the idea that age should steal the small rituals that made life feel like her own.

Her husband, Garson Kanin, made her tea like always. She read a letter from a young actress who had seen Harold and Maude and wrote, “You taught me to be fearless.” Ruth smiled, pressed the letter to her chest, and said nothing.

Later, wrapped in a maroon sweater and seated in her wicker chair with the familiar blue cushion, she let the sea air touch her face while Garson read old diary entries aloud. One entry made her laugh. Another brought her to silence. “I remember that dress,” she said softly.

By afternoon, she asked to rest. Classical music floated through the room. A vase of wildflowers from a friend sat nearby. When Garson told her who sent them, she whispered, “Tell him I remember his terrible cologne.” Those were her last words.

At 7:45 that evening, as a light drizzle dusted the windows, Ruth passed in her sleep. No gasps. No drama. Just stillness. Garson held her hand as she slipped away. A life of applause and artistry ended not with a spotlight—but with grace.

Earlier that week, she had said, “The hardest part isn’t getting old—it’s becoming invisible.” She defied that until the end. She dressed herself. Corrected a nurse’s pronunciation of Chekhov. Insisted on dying at home, not in a hospital. She exited with intention.

There was no grand funeral. Just a quiet chapel, a few close friends, and a tape recorder playing her Oscar acceptance speech from Rosemary’s Baby. The tape was scratchy. Her voice still burned bright.

That night, Garson sat alone on the porch, holding the young actress’s letter. He read it again—and placed it in Ruth’s diary.

Some stars burn out. Others step quietly into the dark, knowing when to bow. Ruth Gordon always knew when to leave the stage.


~The Two Pennies