Women

I've finally discovered the answer to a number of questions I've always had about women. Women do so many of the same strange things, they all must have gone somewhere to learn them. My theory is that sometime between ages 15 and 18, women disappear for the month of July to attend the SSFW (Secret School for Women). Men, if you have any doubt about this, just ask your significant other where she was during the July when she was 16. She'll probably say she can't remember. Don't be misled.

Three Temple players scored 20 or more points, led by Shey Peddy's 26, as the Owls defeated host Saint Jospeh's, 80-70, last night for their sixth straight win. Temple (13-8, 6-1 Atlantic 10) also got a career-high 21 points from Victoria Macaulay and 20 from Kristen McCarthy. Samira Van Grinsven and Ashley Prim scored 13 points apiece to lead the Hawks (14-7, 4-3). In another game *  At Fordham, Michea Bryant's free throw with 2.7 seconds left lifted La Salle to a 56-55 win. Nadia Duncan led the Explorers (10-12, 4-3 A-10)

By Gina Barreca Forget about the usual resolutions, my friends. Face facts: You don't need to lose 15 pounds, because if you're over 45, the only people looking at you closely are other women over 45, and all they're thinking is, "Do I look like her from the back?" And unless guests need to wear haz-mat masks when they step into your foyer, your house is probably clean enough. Stop watching Hoarders and telling yourself you're out of control if you have more than three pairs of unmatched socks or haven't done the dishes since this morning.

Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is obsessed with the women's vote. The day after Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, Romney's campaign issued five press releases in three hours claiming President Obama's economic record has failed women, four of them highlighting remarks by female Republican politicians. It might be a good strategy if the women's vote existed. Romney and the Republican National Committee argue that Obama's energy policy is making women pay higher gas prices; that his economic policy is disproportionately costing them jobs; that the Obama White House pays female aides less than male ones.

IS THE next president going to be a ladies' choice? During their presidential convention this week, Democrats will make a massive appeal for female voters, with a female-centric speaker schedule and a focus on issues that traditionally appeal to women, like abortion, health care, equal pay and education. Pennsylvania's lone female congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, who represents parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, will play a prominent role in that effort, appearing on stage this week with other congresswomen on behalf of President Obama.

Is there really a need to host a professional conference specifically for women? After all, isn't this the 21st century? Haven't women proven that we have the capabilities and resourcefulness to be successful CEOs, world leaders, media moguls, and beyond? We have come a tremendous way, but there is still work to be done. Only 18 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women and only 16 percent of congressional seats are held by women. Research has shown that when more women are involved in leadership decisions, companies are more successful.

Why should female physicians be paid less than male doctors with the same credentials for doing the same job? They are. Women in the workforce get shortchanged every day for an honest day's work, but the pay inequity appears to be more egregious in the medical field. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found disparities in comparing the pay of 237 female physician researchers with that of 553 men, all of whom had won prestigious grants from the National Institutes of Health.

CAIRO - Their kidnappers gave them tea and dried fruit and talked about religion and tribal rights. The California women were allowed to bring their Egyptian tour guide with them. One kidnapper even put out his cigarette in the car when a hostage said the smoke was bothering her. The two women abducted for several hours Friday by armed Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula hesitated to call the men captors, saying the kidnappers were kind, polite, and hospitable. "All of this is an unforgettable memory," said Norma Supe, a nurse from Union City.

Services will be Saturday, Oct. 15, for two women fatally injured when their car struck a guardrail on Krewstown Road in Northeast Philadelphia and crashed into the Pennypack Creek on Monday afternoon. The driver was Shirley Dougherty, 81, and her passenger was Elizabeth Anne Jones, 71, her sister-in-law. They lived together in the Northeast. Ms. Dougherty was pronounced dead at the scene, and Ms. Jones died Monday night at Aria Health-Torresdale Campus. A viewing will be from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Saturday at St. Vincent DePaul Church, 654 Hatboro Rd., Richboro, to be followed by a Funeral Mass at 10. Burial will be at Trinity Oxford Cemetery.

In May 2002, after Michael and Crystal Rocke were married on the beach in Hawaii, Michael carried his bride over the threshold of their Overbrook home. The gesture was unforgettable - and so, unfortunately, was the house. The roof leaked, nails protruded from the warped floors, the walls were dingy. Spiders were everywhere. "It was like the movie Arachnophobia ," says Crystal. "I literally cried for about eight months. For me, it was like the sitcom Green Acres , except we were living in the city of Philadelphia.