American Woman

Tomorrow, the Midas-touch team of Sharon Wohlmuth and Carol Saline will begin a two-month national book tour for A Day in the Life of the American Woman. First stop, 7 p.m., a lecture at the Free Library of Philadelphia. The pair's latest book is not quite the same as their previous best-sellers - Sisters, Mothers and Daughters, and Best Friends. Those were photographed by Wohlmuth, with essays written by Saline. In this new book, the two Philadelphia journalists were only one part of an elaborate team effort involving 50 female photographers and a dozen writers.

I AM AN American woman responding to the letter by Imam Isa Abdulmatin (Oct. 30). He attempts to insult American women, but it fails on points so numerous I could run out of ink. American women are perfectly aware that men are sexually attracted to them. Sweetie, that is the whole idea. Who pretends otherwise? And so what? (Let us skip for a moment Mr. Abdulmatin's characterization of American men as sex-crazed rapists. I will leave it to them to respond to that.) Gloria C. Endres, Philadelphia Why does it always take man to give an opinion of women?

In the tightly controlled corporate atmosphere surrounding the modern Olympics, it's probably easier to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into venues than unsponsored products. Big Olympic sponsors such as Visa, Coke and Kodak have all the business in those places sewn up tighter than Andy Reid's jeans. So yesterday, when a lunchtime cleanup crew at a McDonald's discovered an empty Pepsi bottle on a table, they reacted as if it were terrorist-grade sarin. A gloved woman gingerly lifted the dangerous contraband and handed it to a fellow employee.

UNITED NATIONS AMERICAN WINS HARASSMENT SUIT The first major sex harassment ruling at the United Nations has favored an American woman over her powerful Argentine superior, divided U.N. employees and raised the issue of U.N. gag orders and secrecy. A judge from Ireland's Supreme Court, appointed by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, ruled in January after a closed hearing that the woman had been assaulted and harassed. The judge's report is secret and the principals are forbidden by Boutros-Ghali from speaking about it. But in the report, Justice Mella Carroll said, "All in all, I am satisfied that there is clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Luis Maria Gomez assaulted Ms. Catherine Claxton on March 2, 1988, as alleged.

Henrietta R. Lowe Zinn, 89, a 1940s table tennis star, died Saturday at the Medford Convalescent Center, Medford. Mrs. Zinn, a Medford Lakes resident since 1970, was born and raised in Philadelphia. She was a 1927 graduate of Germantown High School, where she participated in basketball, volleyball, tennis, gymnastics and softball. While on a week's vacation in the Poconos in 1938, Mrs. Zinn saw table tennis played by champions for the first time. When she returned home, she began playing the game, and joined the Women's B Table Tennis League in Philadelphia.

Number of calls Levi Strauss received in 1990 from people describing what they do in their 501 jeans: 802,000. Estimated percentage of these calls that were obscene, according to Levi Strauss: 10. Chances that an American woman who is not a virgin has had only one sexual partner in her life: 1 in 3. Percentage of American junior high school students who say they have sex at least once a week: 7. Number of hours that U.S. convenience-store employees...

What makes the American woman tick? American men don't know what makes any woman tick. The American culture can never figure out who its favorite daughter - homemaker, CEO, sex bomb, scientist - is supposed to be. The American woman herself, all 140 million examples of her, seems to have a different idea of her identity about every 10 minutes. So here you have this pageant, with pages of rules that specifically categorize the qualities it seeks in a woman. And the woman it chooses every year is flamboyantly and repeatedly declared, in one of the most annoyingly memorable songs of all time, to be "our ideal.

The best thing I can say about "My Life in Ruins," a forced comedy about a woman finding love in the Greek isles, is that there's no ABBA. Bad jokes abound, though, in this story of an American woman (Nia Vardalos) who takes a job as a low-rent guide and gets stuck taking awful tourists to see the sites. One stereotype is worse than the next - ugly Americans (dressed in red, white and blue), an Aussie couple that's drunk all the time, snotty British aristocrats, etc. There were a pair of sexually desperate Spanish divorcees - I'd like to learn more about them - but "My Life in Ruins" is a woman's movie, and is soon fixated on the overwhelmed tour guide's search for love.

The single most amazing aspect of the 75th anniversary of women's suffrage is that it occurred only 75 years ago. Although that's 3.5 generations as sociologists count, it's not only within living memory but also three years less than the average life span of an American woman today. Most of us will live longer than we've been able to vote. For decades after slaves were freed in this country, women had no civil rights, no legal rights and no property rights. Texas Gov. William Hobby signed suffrage for women in Texas in 1918, two years before national suffrage, as a result of a shrewd political deal made by our beloved Minnie Fisher ("Minnie Fish")

At first glance, the aprons look just like something Betty Crocker might wear while whipping up a batch of brownie mix. Some have floral patterns. Some are edged with lace. And all have holster pockets in case their owners want to pack pistols as they make dinner. "You might call it a fashion statement," said Carris Kocher, their inventor. "It is something that the American woman now flees from because an apron means you're going to be somebody's servant. " But according to Kocher, a Concordville resident, the beauty of America is that even servants have a constitutional right to defend themselves.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was reelected in a landslide Sunday, winning with the widest victory margin in the country's history as voters were mobilized by popular programs that spread the wealth of a booming economy. Fernandez had 53 percent of the votes after 24 percent of polling stations had been tallied nationwide, while her nearest challenger got just 17 percent. Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo predicted the president's vote share would rise, saying few of the ballots in her party's stronghold of Buenos Aires province, the country's largest, had been counted.

Hazel W. Johnson-Brown, 83, a nurse from Chester County who was the first African American woman to become an Army general, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Friday, Aug. 5, at her home in Wilmington. She was promoted to brigadier general in 1979 and became head of the Army Nurse Corps, which she led until her retirement in 1983. She then had a 14-year career in academia. At a Pentagon news conference announcing her promotion, she said, "It is a significant event . . . and I am thrilled and deeply honored.

The best thing I can say about "My Life in Ruins," a forced comedy about a woman finding love in the Greek isles, is that there's no ABBA. Bad jokes abound, though, in this story of an American woman (Nia Vardalos) who takes a job as a low-rent guide and gets stuck taking awful tourists to see the sites. One stereotype is worse than the next - ugly Americans (dressed in red, white and blue), an Aussie couple that's drunk all the time, snotty British aristocrats, etc. There were a pair of sexually desperate Spanish divorcees - I'd like to learn more about them - but "My Life in Ruins" is a woman's movie, and is soon fixated on the overwhelmed tour guide's search for love.

Lindsey Vonn won the super-G season finale at the World Cup finals in Are, Sweden, becoming the first American woman to capture the championship title in the discipline. Vonn earned her third crystal globe this season, tying the U.S. record set by Phil Mahre in 1982. The 24-year-old Vonn finished the Olympia course in 1 minute, 20.63 seconds. A day earlier, she clinched the World Cup overall title for the second straight year by winning downhill. "I was hoping so much that I could win today and get the super-G globe; no American female has ever done that," Vonn said.

Drexel graduate student Michelle Lilienthal made her Boston Marathon memorable yesterday. Lilienthal was the second fastest American woman (16th overall), finishing in 2 hours, 40 minutes, 23 seconds. Emily LeVan, from Wiscasset, Maine, was the fastest American woman (13th overall) in 2:37.01. Kenya's Rita Jeptoo won the women's race in 2:23.38. Lilienthal, 24, improved significantly over her marathon debut last November. She finished third in the Philadelphia Marathon in 2:49.

Tomorrow, the Midas-touch team of Sharon Wohlmuth and Carol Saline will begin a two-month national book tour for A Day in the Life of the American Woman. First stop, 7 p.m., a lecture at the Free Library of Philadelphia. The pair's latest book is not quite the same as their previous best-sellers - Sisters, Mothers and Daughters, and Best Friends. Those were photographed by Wohlmuth, with essays written by Saline. In this new book, the two Philadelphia journalists were only one part of an elaborate team effort involving 50 female photographers and a dozen writers.

The U.S. Open, for the third consecutive year, will not have an American woman in Saturday's final. But it could have an all-Russian final again. Lindsay Davenport, ranked No. 1 in the world but seeded second, wasn't at her best last night and lost to Russian Elena Dementieva, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), at Arthur Ashe Stadium. No. 6 seed Dementieva, a finalist here last year, will face No. 12 Mary Pierce in one semifinal tomorrow. In the other, Russian Maria Sharapova, the top seed, will take on No. 4 Kim Clijsters of Belgium.

American Jennifer Rodriguez claimed the women's world sprint speedskating championship yesterday in Kearns, Utah, becoming the first U.S. skater in nine years to win the event. The Netherlands' Erben Wennemars successfully defended his men's title, overtaking four-time champion Jeremy Wotherspoon in the final turn of the last pairing of the 1,000 meters. The last American women's sprint titlist was Chris Witty in 1996. Finland's Tanja Poutiainen captured the overall slalom title after she finished third in a race in Maribor, Slovenia.

In the tightly controlled corporate atmosphere surrounding the modern Olympics, it's probably easier to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into venues than unsponsored products. Big Olympic sponsors such as Visa, Coke and Kodak have all the business in those places sewn up tighter than Andy Reid's jeans. So yesterday, when a lunchtime cleanup crew at a McDonald's discovered an empty Pepsi bottle on a table, they reacted as if it were terrorist-grade sarin. A gloved woman gingerly lifted the dangerous contraband and handed it to a fellow employee.

Neatly folded hides from elk and deer are stacked in rows in Jona Naughton's studio. Tacked to shelves are the soft pelts of raccoons and wildcats. A fringed, elk-skin jacket pieced together by hand is draped over a worktable. A beaded-leather cradleboard, or Native American infant carrier, insulated with wolf fur hangs from a hook. A foxtail dangles from a quiver suspended on a fluorescent lamp. Not your typical Bucks County studio. Working in the tradition of her Mohawk/Onondaga ancestors, Naughton has created tribal clothing, quivers, pouches, pillows and cradleboards for more than 30 years from her Point Pleasant studio.