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http://www.thecharlottepost.com tKlje CIjnrIotte THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2005 LIFE Religion 8B Section Sommer in the City Sommer Brokaw 5 guys, 40 minutes, no waiting I’ve yet to make a love con nection here the old-fash ioned way so I decided to give one of the latest dating fads a tiy After all, this is the new millennium and just about everyone is exploring cyber space. I started by looking at a few options online, such as Matchmaker.com. But there’s something creepy to me about posting my profile in an online dating database. I’m just traditional in that way I want to see the person face to face. Then, if they decide to shoot me down, at least I got the chance to see who it was. So, I chose another fast-paced way to find the man of my dreanis: speed dating. I liked this idea. I could find Mr. Eight in less time than it takes to order a cafe latte. When I came across the advertisement for Sminute- dating.com, I was impressed. It read “8 Great Dates -1 Fun Night.” But, when the dating started at Phil & 'Tbny’s on Providence Road, there were five men, seven women, and whether we were going to have fun was in doubt. I was disappointed, but detemiined to make the most of it. I refused to believe I’d gotten aU dressed up and let my hair down for nothing. I was going to have some fun. So, I escaped into the world of speed dating. When I stepped into the speed zone, I was no longer Sommer Biukaw. I was Sommer 103. No last names here. I was given a card to- write the names and numbers of poten tial mates and a fist of instructions. I would really have to be socially inept to actually need their network ing tips. For example, some of their tips were to smile, say hello. “Houston! We have touchdown.” Did we just’ come in fiom Mars, or do we know this already? The card also had pick-up lines to avo^ such as: “Hello, I’m a thief and Fm here to steal yoiu heart,” ‘Tour* legs must be tired because you’ve been running through my mind all night.” And the clas sic “Is there an airport near by, or is that my heart taking off?” They made me laugh, but I was still nervous. Questions to ask ran through my mind like: “Are you mar ried?” “Are you a psy-- chopath?” Granted, I would hope everyone would be sin gle, but not everyone has those morals. When I was online, the one handsome man I saw had a question mark under marital status. Another profile read “If you’re HIV fiee, don’t mess with me.” Um, thanks for the warnings. The dating started with a buzzer. First up was Chris 716 jfrom Spartanburg. He was kind of shy, and I only had ei^t minutes to get to know him until the buzzer rang. I felt like we were being rounded up like cattle for auction. “Sommer 103,” a voice inside my head kept telling me “Chris 716 isn’t that into you, keep moving.” And so, the cycle continued. Chris 703, a gym teacher, looked nice, and he said to me under the wire, “put a line across the one in your num ber and that makes us a match.” Cute. I get it 103, ^703. There’s that buzzer Please see FIVE/2B #•0 PHOTO/WADE NASH Ny Vann and Shawn Huntley went to get tested for HIV together during National HIV Testing Day. HIV: Know your status Black women are losing fight against contracting HIV By Chens F. Hodges cherisJwdges®lhecharloiieposijroin Thiriy-year-old Shawn Huntley has been her’e befor’e, with the blood sample and waiting. The waiting, she says, is the worst. “It seemed like the longest two weeks of my life,” she said of wait ing for the results of her HTV test. On Monday as she waited in line at the Mecklenburg County Health D^aiiment to get tested again, she knew what to expect. “I get tested once a year because the CDC si^gests that you get tested every six months,” she said. Black women, according to the Centers for Disease Control, make up 57percent of HIV cases. The AIDS rate among black women is thi'ee times as hi^ as that among Latino women and 18 times as high as that amor^ white women. Ibday black women make up moi’e than half of all women who have died of AIDS. Afiican Americans make up 13 per cent of the population, yet account for 41 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States. These statistics play into why Huntiey and her fiance both got test ed last yeai’ and Monday during National HIV Ifesting day “It is very important for us to know our status,” she said. ‘We both went to get tested. I saw on a commercial that this is somethir^ important to talk about with your partner.” Especially if couples don’t always use condoms dming sex, something Huntley admits she and her fiance, Ny Vann, don’t always do. Please see HIV/2B Orlando offers alternatives to theme parks By Chens F. Hodges cherisJiodges(&thecharlo!teposi£:om There’s more to an Oilando vacation than IVfickey Mouse and theme parks. The Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau wants black families to know there is more to the Florida city than Universal Studios and Disney magic. You can revisit Afiican American history in Eatonville, just north of downtown. It’s the home of the Zora Neale Hm’ston National Museum of Fine Arts and Zora Neale Hui’ston Festival of Arts and Humanities. The festival takes place each January in the Oiiando suburb Hurston called home and is the oldest incorporated Afiican American municipality in the country According to Michelle Stepney a spokeswoman with the OCVB, Eatonville is the biggest attraction for black families. Orlando produced an Afiican American lY’avel Guide which offers infomiation about special events and activities, worship, dinir^, shopping, nightiife, business and personal ser vices, media, black organizations and area maps. The guide also details the influence of Afiican Americans in Orlando’s growth finm the early 1800s throi^h today and into the fiiturs. In July, Orlando plays host to “Fireworks Over The Fountain” at Lake Eola Par’k downtown. Thers ars several ethnic offerings as well as American culinary favorites. On Sundays in July and August, Orlando’s contemporary jazz station plays host to “Jams in Central Park” in Winter Park. So a trip to Orlando can be fim and informative and it doesn’t have to cen ter around a mouse. Summer was made for lots of activities THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK—It sounds so good: Lazy summer days with nothing to do. But, as anyone with active and antsy chil dren in the house knows, nothing to do gets old fast. ' Some new books and magazines come to the rescue, ofifering ideas for things to do before rest becomes restless. The best part? Most can be done with items you likdy have around the house: “Family Fun: My Great Idea” (Disney) includes parents’ tips for, weU, family fim. A total of 350 submitted their ideas, including Cindy Gwozdz fix>m Taimton, Mass. Her daughters used oversized boxes to turn ihe baclyard into a drive-in movie theater. They spent an entire afternoon decorating their boxes with windshields, rearview mirrors, wheels and hcense plates. Then, their Aunt Carol pulled a TV onto the deck to com plete the experience. (She also loaded up on snack food and mosquito coils.) Meanwhile, the Kittles family of Jupiter, Fla., has its own drive-in the ater - the garage. They drag their VCR (or maybe a DVD player) out to the garage and then climb into the family van. “There are no bugs,”’ says mom Lynette, “and the food is more teason- ably priced.” Tawni Ballinger of Germantown, Ibnn., with help fix)m and decorations , by her twin dau^ters, turns the fami ly van into an ice-cream truck all in an effort to help the hungry The Ballingers fill up a cxxjler with finzen treats and head out in their van with a cow bell to annoimce their arrival up and down the street. But instead of paying for their ice cream pops with money neighbors donate, canned goods. The next day they drive down to the local food bank to deliver the supplies they’ve gathered. Parenting magazine’s July issue fea tures a section called “backyard party” which needs no other occasion than a pleasant day for fiiends and families enjoying each other’s company Some games are “aqua pinata” and “dog chas es tail.” For the pinata, fill a large plastic bucket halfway with water and hang it finm a tree branch. Blindfold kids, spin them aroimd, and then give tiiem a Health Ophelia Garmon Brown Learn diabetes and its effects Are you one of the 5.2 mil lion Americans who has dia betes but doesn’t know it? Diabetes means your body cannot properly store and use fuel for eneigy Your body needs glucose for fuel, and to use glucose, your body needs insuhn, which is made by the panaeas. If yom* blood glu cose is not managed, diabetes can lead to kidney failure, heart disease, impotence, blindness, and amputation. Symptoms of diabetes, including fi*equent urination, excessive thirst, extreme burner, unusual weight loss, increased fatigue, irritability infections and blmry vision, should be repoiied to your doctor. Once it’s diagnosed, diabetes can be ti’eated and people can lead long, healthy lives. But it’s important you learn what type of diabetes you have and how to ti’eat it. The two main types are Type 1 and Type 2. TVpe 2 accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases and is the most common form affect ing blacks. lype 2 is associat ed with older age, obesity family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes, impaii'ed glucose tolerance, physical inactivity and race/ethnidty lype 2 diabetes means the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin your body makes. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes need to follow a careful diet and exercise program, lose excess weight and take oral medication. Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, usually affects children and young adults, althou^ it can start at any age. In TyP® 1. the body’s inunune system destroys the cells that pro duce insulin. Ib survive, peo ple with Type 1 diabetes must have insulin delivered by a pump or injections. Pre-diabetes is a condition that may develop before IVpe 2 diabetes. Blood glucose lev els are higher than normal, but managing those levels can delay or prevent the onset of IVpe 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes affects about 4 percent of all preg nant women and is more common among obese women and women with a family his tory of diabetes. During preg nancy, gestational diabetes requires treatment to nor malize the mother’s blood glucose levels to avoid compli cations in the infant. After pregnancy 5 to 10 percent of women with gestational dia betes have Type 2 diabetes. Ophelia Gannon-Brown, , M.D..is medical director at Presbyterian Urgent Care Pre-diabetes is a condition that may develop before Type 2 diabetes. Please see SUMMER/2B
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June 30, 2005, edition 1
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