There is a reason cliches become cliché. Some things people just keep repeating. Such was the case at the Orlando County Thursday night as 600 plus parents and kids packed the atrium to the point of standing room only capacity. All were there to see Olympic Gold Medalist Gabrielle Douglas, as she made her sixth stop on the “Grace, Gold, & Glory” book tour.

The book is a memoir detailing the challenges faced, and sacrifices made by Douglas on her way to becoming the first African-American female to win all around Gold at the Olympics. Reggie Smothers arrived with nine-year old daughter, Zakaria, at two o’clock, four hours before the 6pm start time, to be sure of meeting the Olympian. They were the first in line. Opposite them in a line specifically for non-library members, a mother of two had driven two hours to make sure her daughter would meet their gymnastic idol. It is a testament to both the little-publicized popularity of young gymnasts and Douglas’s own popularity that both lines snaked backward until reaching the opposite end of the library.

Douglas’s mother, Natalie Hawkins, still has not gotten used to the response to her daughter. “Right after she won, people would get out of their cars in the middle of the street to run and take a picture with her. But even at the signing in Virginia (months after her win) we had 700 people show up. 600 at the next stop. And tonight this is the strongest response it seems yet. We feel blessed.”

One can only imagine what it must feel like to see young girls and adults alike crowed into a room, and chanting your name. At one point a chant of “Gabby,” “Gabby,” “Gabby,” reverberated through the library book stacks, followed by the crowd singing Happy Birthday, after the publisher of Grace, Gold, & Glory announced Douglas’s upcoming birthday on December 31.

Douglas took it in stride, commenting more than once in her Q&A session that she felt blessed and appreciated those that she has inspired. One rather poignant question was about how Dominique Dawes had inspired Douglas. “Dominique was my inspiration when I was growing up. And after I won I saw later on television Dominique crying.”

When speaking about being the first African-American female to win the all around Gold, Douglas clearly understands the significance, saying, “I’m glad I can be an inspiration for others because I know there are not a lot of black girls in gymnastics.”

The crowd yelled loudly when city officials mentioned the historic win as Orlando County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and city Commissioner Samuel Ings each presented Douglas with keys to the city. To the credit of the crowd, and the country at large, the response from the crowd was twice as loud simply for Douglas being Douglas. Not one color or ethnic group stood out. At one point the sheer number of people made things get a little chaotic, but the young girls (and some boys) took it all in stride because they loved Douglas for being a great gymnast, and an American gold medal winner. The fact that she happens to be black is more important to the historians than her fans.

The best question of the night came from Brittany who asked: “Were you scared the first time you got on the uneven bars, cause I’m scared.”

With the brilliant smile that has become as much her signature as her tumbling skills, Gabby responded, “Yes there first time I was on them I was scared. But, I knew I could do it. And so can you. You can do it, just go out there and have fun. Don’t let fear stop you.”

That is perhaps the best lesson anyone; young or old can learn from America’s new sweet heart.

Gabby Douglas book signing – free slideshow maker with music

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Ending the federal budgeting process recently, Congress dealt a devastating blow to the fight against childhood lead poisoning. The Omnibus Appropriations Bill cut funding for the CDC’s Healthy Homes Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to $2 million—a 94% reduction from FY11.

Lead poisoning still remains a significant environmental public health threat that affects over 30 million homes and nearly a half-million children annually. Today, parents of lead poisoned children can rely on their state or local health departments for help. A nurse or trained professional will come to their house and find the source of lead poisoning.

The program may connect parents to resources to remove hazards and can compel rental property owners to fix hazards. The program also prevents the disease through policies, community education, and outreach. ”Congress gave our children a lump of lead this holiday season,” said Rebecca Morley, Executive Director of the National Center for Healthy Housing.

“Studies show that educating a child with lead poisoning costs an extra $38,000. If even half of the children with lead poisoning incur these costs, that’s a $10 billion price tag,” continued Morley. “The cost of eliminating this program is staggering.”

The decision will result in the near-elimination of the program and massive job loss at the state and local levels. The move follows an advisory committee’s recommendation to CDC to lower the threshold for when a child is considered to have enough lead in his or her blood that follow-up action is needed. This change in the “action level” will more than double the caseload of poisoned kids that need the health department’s help.

“The burden on the most vulnerable families just got heavier. Too many children with lead poisoning already go undiagnosed. Without this program, we will return to the era of children being hospitalized for lead. Why is Congress treating our children like canaries in a coal mine?” said Liz Colon, parent and organizer for the Childhood Lead Action Project in Rhode Island.

The impact of these proposed cuts will also fall directly on the backs of low-income families and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by environmental health hazards. Nationally, African American children are three times more likely to suffer from lead poisoning.

In some locales, African American and Latino children are eight to nine times more likely to enter school with a history of lead poisoning. Children poisoned by lead are seven times more likely to drop out of school and six times more likely to end up in the juvenile justice system.

“Lead poisoning is preventable. We are taking a huge step back in protecting our children’s health, safety, and future by eliminating the resources communities need to prevent and address lead exposures,” said Nsedu Witherspoon, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network.

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