By: Arizona E.

“I want to apologize to all the women I have called beautiful before I’ve called them intelligent or brave. I am sorry I made it sound as though something as simple as what you’re born with is all you have to be proud of when you have broken mountains with your wit. From now on I will say things like you are resilient, or you are extraordinary. Not because I don’t think you’re beautiful but because I need you to know you are more than that”.  

“I want to Apologize” is a poem by Rupi Kaur about how women are more than just their appearance. I chose to write about this poem because I think it is important that the girls of our order should know the same. Insecurities regarding physical appearance are sky-high and I wanted to take this as an opportunity to acknowledge that you are worth more than your appearance. For me, I discovered music, books, and authors that made me see that. It’s easy to fall victim to the thoughts and feelings of others, but the only opinion that really matters is yours. You have to live in this body your whole life. I’ve learned in high school that while it seemed important at the time, your hair, makeup, outfit, that when the year or even the day is done and over with, you won’t remember what shoes you were wearing. Your shirt becomes irrelevant. Your makeup is an afterthought. While I’m not saying that your appearance doesn’t matter or you shouldn’t try to look nice, I’m saying that it isn’t the only thing that matters. If you want to look nice, do it! But do it for yourself. Always do what makes you happy, because like I said, you’re stuck with this body your entire life, why not do what you want with it. Wear whatever you want. Experiment with makeup. BUT, do it for you. 

By: George Whitten, State Rainbow Dad 2023

Hellooo California Rainbow! My name is George Whitten, and I am your Pioneering Wolf Pack State Rainbow Dad for 2023. I want to say a big thank you to Mrs. Regier for her confidence in me and for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve California Grand Assembly. I am thrilled to be able to travel with Grand Worthy Advisor Sydney W. and all the “Wolf Pack” Grandies and adults throughout California and other jurisdictions during 2022-2023. My home Assembly is Petaluma-Marin in Petaluma, Ca. (Novato Assembly became Marin Assembly and merged with Petaluma Assembly a few years ago). I retired in 2018 after working for 40+ years as a maintenance machinist in the oil industry. I joined Petaluma-Hamilton Lodge in 1990 and served as Master of the lodge in 1995 and again in 1999. During my first term as Master, I regularly visited both Petaluma and Novato assemblies. I really enjoyed the dynamics of the order and the fact that the girls oversee their assemblies with input from the advisory board. After my term as Master, I continued to attend assembly meetings and I guess I caught the “Rainbow bug” and have been involved ever since. I have served as Rainbow Dad several times, attended Grand Assembly starting in 1999, received the Grand Cross of Color in 2000, and been a board member for quite some time. During my time in Rainbow, I have had the pleasure of escorting all the Petaluma Assembly appointed Grand Officers to the floor at Revelations (except Marissa Simpson – I could barely control myself let alone take her down the stairs safely). I enjoy riding my Harley Davidson motorcycle (when I can) and have made several trips around the country. I also enjoy going to Sonoma Raceway each July to watch the NHRA drag races. As a machinist, I am a bit of a gearhead, and I like repairing mechanical stuff and doing most of the work maintaining my vehicles (that will help this year) and keeping things working in our food booth at our annual fund raiser during the Marin County Fair over the Fourth of July weekend. (Which is on again for this year)! I am super excited about the next 12 months of being State Rainbow Dad and look forward to a great, prosperous, busy, and FUN year for the “Wolf Pack”!

Hello California Rainbow, with all my wolfy wonder I’d like to introduce Mrs. Vickie Garcia. Born in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Her family moved to Artesia, New Mexico where she lived for 10 years. Then moved to Roswell, NM for six years. Mrs. Garcia’s maiden name is Marrs. It’s pronounced like the planet Mars. In 1949 there was a famous UFO landing outside of Roswell. There was a series called “Roswell”. The City of Roswell has a UFO Museum where every year there is a UFO convention attended by people from all around the world! Her son and daughter would tease her and call her an alien from “Mars”.  When she was 16 years old, her family moved to Fairfax (Marin County), CA.  When she eventually moved to Novato, CA.  In addition to living in various parts of California, she has also lived in Connecticut, Louisiana, and New Jersey.

Mr. Tony Garcia, CFO and PSRD- Panther Paw Pa, and Mrs. Garcia have been married for  40 ½ years. Together they have a pet Weimaraner named Sadie. Those who have been to their home know she is very spoiled! She has two children- a daughter Randi and a son Jonathan. In 2003 Randi served as Grand Faith for the Whimsically Wacky Walruses.  Randi has a son- Tyler and a daughter- Isabel. They live in Lemoore, CA.  Jonathan is not married and lives in Oceanside. Tony has three older children- oldest daughter- Linda, son- John, and younger daughter- Lillian. They all live west of Phoenix. There are 12 grandchildren in all and eight great-grandchildren in total. When they are all together, they always have a great time.

After 33 years with the Federal Government, Mrs. Garcia retired. She has now been retired for 17 years! She worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Starting out as a tax auditor and auditing individual tax returns. Then became a manager of tax auditors and a manager in the case processing function that processed the audited tax returns. She had the opportunity to travel on business to numerous cities.  Before being involved in Rainbow, she traveled to Fresno!  She also traveled to several cities throughout California. In addition to traveling to Anchorage, Alaska, Hawaii, Seattle, Washington, Salt Lake City Utah, Nashville, Tennessee, Raleigh, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and several times to Dallas, Texas. Traveling to some cities more than once. She was in Dallas on 9/11.  Her district’s Official Visit of the Grand Worthy Advisor was on 9/13 and she had obtained permission to leave the meeting early to return to California for the O.V. But with the events of 9/11, she was not able to return for the Official Visit. 

She was Mother Advisor for Golden Star Assembly, No. 275, in Vista, CA, for 15 years.  In 2005 she was appointed to the Grand Executive Committee as a GEC MA. She was one of two GEC MAs who first served as a three-year GEC MA. For about eight years she volunteered at the Grand Assembly Office for Mrs. Sara Lee Martin. Helping with financial training, answering questions, and providing direction to the Assemblies regarding financial and non-profit status based on IRS Code §501(c)(3). She continues to volunteer for Mrs. Dana Regier, our Supreme Inspector. At Grand Assembly 2016 she was appointed Area Grand Deputy for the San Diego County Assemblies. She has been on several Supreme Tours and has always enjoyed these trips and the many beautiful cities. They are always an adventure. The Supreme Tours have given her the opportunity to become better acquainted with the members of our Rainbow family.

She was a Rainbow Girl in Roswell, New Mexico. Belonging to Zia Assembly, which is now closed.  She still has her Lambskin Apron. Her favorite office is Faith, not only because her daughter was Grand Faith but because Faith represents so much about Rainbow.  Faith is the first person to lead a new initiate into the Assembly room and to instruct a new girl of the teachings of Rainbow.  She appreciates all the lessons of the bow stations.

She loves all the friendships she has made and all the people she’s had the opportunity to get to know.  Rainbow has given us all a common bond.  Through Rainbow she has traveled to many parts of California.  On one of her trips, she told Tony “we would have never come to this town if it had not been for Rainbow.” She always enjoys going back to New Mexico. New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment. There are so many things to see, and it is rich in history.  She also enjoys Washington, D.C.  She loves all the museums and history. 

She enjoys New Mexican Spanish food, she’ll definitely have to let me try a dish. Every year she buys fresh New Mexican green chiles, roasts them, freezes them, and enjoys them all year long. She also buys New Mexico sun dried red chiles to make red chile sauce. The New Mexico chiles have a wonderful flavor!

In her free time she enjoys digital scrapbooking.  She is scanning all her pictures into a cloud storage system and using their digital scrapbooking program. She is also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her initial Patriot is James Litchfield of Massachusetts. She is currently working on proving another Patriot- General Andrew Pickens. She is also a member of the Mayflower Society and a descendant of John Howland.  He is the person who fell off the ship on the way to America.

A message from Mrs. Garcia: To my beautiful Pioneering Wolf Pack daughters, embrace this year.  Enjoy this year and cherish your new Rainbow family.  Mrs. Regier has prayed about each girl and each office.  She appointed each of you to your special office. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you. I look forward to our many travels together and fun times.  And as the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls begins the next 100 years of Rainbow, our Pioneering Wolf Pack will lead California Rainbow’s First-Class Organization.  Watch out California Rainbow, here comes the Pack!

By: Carley L., Assistant Grand Editor

Leadership, service, and sisterhood. The three beautiful virtues that make up our wonderful order. When I was first initiated into the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, many people told me “The friends you make in Rainbow will last you a lifetime.” Of course, I believed them. I had met a few of my mom’s friends that she made when she was a Rainbow Girl and Grand Officer. My only hesitation was that I had never experienced it. I never had trouble making friends at school, but none of them were friends I could count on when I knew I needed them the most. Rainbow has not only given me friends that I know I can count on, but has given me friends that I know will be there for me throughout life. The friendships you make in Rainbow are so special. They are with girls who have the same beliefs, morals, and life values. I can truly be myself around my Rainbow sisters. A few of the friendships I have made have been more recent. No matter if you’ve known them for years, days, or even minutes, those true friends will make an impact on not only your life but your soul. Soulmates exist in many virtues of life, including love. But best friend soulmates are the best of all. You know deep down that they are truly there for you because they love who you are, even at your worst. Rainbow has given me friendships that I will never take for granted and will always cherish. I’m certain some of these ladies will be my bridesmaids when I get married and causing trouble with me in the nursing home from having too much fun. These girls are my best friends. I owe it all to the order we all know and love, the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls for giving me my forever friends.

By: Zoee S., Grand Editor

Oh, a guest! Hello there! I haven’t seen you in a while. You might not remember me so let me re-introduce myself. I am the Narrator and the Narrator is me! You have come at the perfect time for I am about to tell the story of a handsome prince cursed to turn into an ugly beast by a witch and a girl, named Belle, who came along and healed his cold heart. It began long ago in a small village in France…

Belle was unlike any woman in her town, she enjoyed reading and had an education. Many of the townspeople called her peculiar but she didn’t mind. She enjoyed her quiet life in her village until one day her father needed to go off on a journey to the Beast’s castle. Her father was a maker of music boxes. One day when he was traveling back to the village he came upon a rose garden and plucked a singular rose. Unknown to him, this rose garden belongs to the Beast. Seeing Belle’s father pluck the rose, the Beast locks him up in the dungeons for life. Concerned her father has yet to return, Belle travels to find her father and happens upon the castle. There she finds her father being held in the dungeons and makes her first encounter with the Beast. Appalled by what the Beast was doing with her father she asks the Beast to release him. The Beast refuses only to accept when Belle offers to take her father’s place instead. 

Sometimes we do crazy things for the people we love. We may question our choices at first, but it’s all worth it if we can prevent our loved ones from being hurt. Even if that means taking their place. Belle did exactly that. She didn’t know what would happen because of her actions, all she cared about was making sure her father was safe. In the end, she fell in love with the Beast and became a princess. Belle’s father experienced a similar situation, but only negative. He picked the rose thinking about Belle and how it would make her happy. Because of this, he ended up in the dungeon with Belle ultimately taking his place. Not really a desired outcome. However, it’s okay because in life we won’t know what will happen if we don’t do it. My advice is to do what you think is right, and to try the grey stuff because it’s delicious!

Ah, would you look at that I’m late for dinner! Please excuse me, Mr. Cogsworth doesn’t like tardiness, he tends to keep time better than most. Tah! Tah! Till next time when we meet again for our storytelling corner!