Princess Bubble Doesn't Need Prince Charming to Live Happily Ever After
There's a new fairy tale princess in town: Princess Bubble.
Before you roll your eyes, however, I should note that Princess Bubble is different from other princesses: she ain't no damsel in distress, and she don't need to be rescued.
Authors Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb have co-written a fairytale whose heroine teaches little girls they don't need Prince Charming to live happily ever after. Like her creators, Princess Bubble is single, has a college degree and owns her own home. She works as a flight attendant, meeting friends as she travels all over the globe.
I haven't read this fairy tale yet, but I have to say, if I were the parent of a little girl, this would be a must-have bedtime read. With so much of literature marketed to little girls focusing on the traditional princess archetype (I'm looking at YOU, Disney's Princess Collection), with all the wicked stepmothers and witches from whom she must be rescued, Princess Bubble is a stand-out example to impressionable girls that happily ever after comes from being self-fulfilled and independent, not from a fairy godmother or handsome prince.
"We are not anti-prince. We are anti-damsel in distress," said Johnston in her interview with CNN. She references her own situation as a single woman as exemplary that, prince or no prince, as long as she is comfortable with herself and seeks to be a loving and kind person, a single princess can live happily ever after, after all.
(CNN) -- Once upon a time there was a princess who was living quite happily and not pining away for her prince or trying to avoid being killed by her evil stepmother.
The story of "Princess Bubble" is being told by two real women who are living their own happy lives.
"After my 17th wedding as a bridesmaid and many baby showers later, I became the godmother or surrogate aunt to many little girls. As we played Barbies and Cinderella together, they would tell me that the princess had to find the prince in order to live happily ever after," says Susan Johnston, co-author of "Princess Bubble."
"I pointed out that I have not found a prince, but I have a fantastic life. I wanted these girls to know they can have a fantastic life no matter what stage they are in," says Johnston.
The fairy godmother in the book tells Princess Bubble, "True happiness is found by loving God, being kind to others, and being comfortable with who you are already! Happy princesses are people who enjoy others and like themselves."
The book is based loosely on the lives of authors Johnston and Kimberly Webb. Princess Bubble is a college graduate, a homeowner and works as a flight attendant to satisfy her desire to travel and meet people. Johnston and Webb once worked together at Delta Airlines and have college degrees.
"I've had countless women all over the nation tell me they wish there had been a book like this when they were little. Now they know that being single doesn't mean they are alone," says Johnston.
The book is aimed at empowering young and adult readers to take charge of their lives.
The star of the book, Princess Bubble, is unlike other traditional fairy princesses. For instance, she does not have a wicked stepmother and has never been surrounded by seven dwarves. She also does not have a prince and is perfectly happy on her own.
Are the authors anti-man? "We are not anti-prince. We are anti-damsel in distress," said Johnston. "True happiness comes from within and is to be shared. We can't make someone else responsible for our happiness."
The authors paid to publish the book. "We thought the message of this book was important and it needed to be out there in the universe," says Webb.
"Some 51 percent of adult women in our country are single, so I thought the timing of the book was right," says Johnston.
Johnston and Webb say they would not mind getting married one day. However, like Princess Bubble, they understand they'll be happy with or without a prince. They are destined to live happily ever after.
"I've dated a lot, but I think it is better to be single and wish you were married then to be married and wish you were single," Johnston says.
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/22/princess.bubble/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
22 Aug, 2008
Single Girls This Holiday Season Live A Fairy Tale Life
Single Girls This Holiday Season Live A Fairy Tale Life
Atlanta, GA, August 21, 2008 --This Christmas season thousands of single belles will hang their silk stockings and say their prayers before a quick night’s sleep-then it’s off to work they go. This ever growing group of Carols, Noels, and Merrys will shop, party and cook as they celebrate the holidays with families and friends. Two successful single gals will ring in the New Year with a resolution; offering parents an updated version of the traditional fairy tale. No longer a “Damsel in Distress,” this princess travels the world, helps others, and finds “happily ever after” even before she finds her Prince.
With wisdom gleaned from their careers as single, globe-trotting flight attendants, first-time authors Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb have crafted a modern-day book that celebrates singleness. A contemporary fairy tale for all ages, Princess Bubble was written to reduce the overwhelming sense of failure, self-doubt, and despair that some single women face.
“Knowing how low self-esteem and depression plague many single females, we wanted to spread the message that ‘happily ever after’ can occur even before Prince Charming arrives. . . or even if he never does,” said Webb.
“We’re definitely not anti-Prince,” said Johnston (whose college nickname was “Bubble”). “We’re not anti-family or anti-marriage, if anything we’re anti-‘Damsel in Distress.’ Our message—the single life can also be a fairy tale. The End.”
Princess Bubble stars a princess who is confused by the traditional fairy tale messages that say she must find her “prince” before she can live “happily ever after.” Princess Bubble dons her “thinking crown” to research traditional fairy tales, interviews married girlfriends, and even takes counsel from her mother, who advises her to sign up at FindYourPrince.com. With a little help from her fairy godmother (this is still a fairy tale after all), Ms. Bubble discovers that “living happily ever after” is not about finding a prince. “True happiness,” the book reveals, “is found by loving God, being kind to others, and being comfortable with who you are already.”
“We’ve had countless women all over the nation tell us they wish there had been a book like this when they were young,” said Johnston. “This is a story women can truly believe in and feel comfortable sharing with their children.”
Cinderella, others arrested in Disneyland labor protest
Just for the record-Princess Bubble has never been arrested or involved in any trouble with the law. www.PrincessBubble.com
ANAHEIM, California (AP) -- Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbell and other fictional fixtures of modern-day childhood were handcuffed, frisked and loaded into police vans Thursday at the culmination of a labor protest that brought a touch of reality to the Happiest Place on Earth.
"Tinkerbell" and other Disney characters were handcuffed Thursday in a protest outside the gates of Disneyland.
The arrest of the 32 protesters, many of whom wore costumes representing famous Disney characters, came at the end of an hour-long march to Disneyland's gates from one of three Disney-owned hotels at the center of a labor dispute.
Those who were arrested sat in a circle on a busy intersection outside the park holding hands until they were placed in plastic handcuffs and led to two police vans while hundreds of hotel workers cheered and chanted.
The protesters were arrested on a misdemeanor count of failure to obey a police officer and two traffic infractions, said Sgt. Rick Martinez of the Anaheim police. They were cited and released, Sgt. Chris Schneider said.
Bewildered tourists in Disney T-shirts and caps, some pushing strollers, filed past the commotion and gawked at the costumed picketers getting hauled away. The protest shut down a major thoroughfare outside Disneyland and California Adventure for nearly an hour.
"It's changing my opinion of Disneyland," said tourist Amanda Kosato, who was visiting from north of Melbourne, Australia. "Taking away entitlements stinks."
The dispute involves about 2,300 maids, bell hops, cooks and dishwashers at three Disney-owned hotels: the Paradise Pier, the Grand Californian and the Disneyland Hotel.
The workers' contract expired in February and their union says Disney's latest proposal makes health care unaffordable for hundreds of employees and creates an unfair two-tier wage system. The union also says Disney wants to create a new category of part-time employees who would receive greatly reduced benefits.
"The other hotels around the area all have health care that is provided by the boss and have been able to get wage increases," said Ada Briceno, president of Unite Here Local 681, which represents the workers.
"At the other hotels in the same classification, for the same work, the workers get paid $2 to $3 an hour more."
Disney spokeswoman Lisa Haines said Disney and the union are in negotiations and nothing has been finalized. She said workers have protested 14 times but sat down to negotiate only 11 times in the past six months.
"Clearly we're disappointed that Unite Here Local 681 has spent more time protesting," she said. "Publicity stunts are not productive and are extremely disruptive to the resort district."
Before the arrests, the picketers marched and chanted outside Paradise Pier, holding signs that read, "Disney is unfaithful," and "Mickey, shame on you." They were joined by community activists and religious leaders from local churches.
Luz Vasquez, who works in the bakery at Disneyland Hotel, said she can't afford to lose many of her benefits. She said it's already hard to care for her three grandchildren and aging mother while earning $14.32 an hour.
"Disneyland is being unfair with us because we're fighting for our health care and they're trying to take it away," said Vasquez, 45. "They're trying to cut our hours and take away our seniority."
Co-worker Diane Dominguez, 50, said she was worried about losing health care because of the heavy labor involved in lifting mattresses, moving furniture and making dozens of beds a day. She also said rising prices and the cost of gas were eating into her salary of $11.11 an hour.
"The most important is health care. We need that and they want to take it away," she said.
At the heart of the issue is a free health care plan that has been provided to Disney hotel workers through a trust fund that Disney and other unionized hotels in the area pay into.
Briceno said that in exchange for the free medical plan, union members agreed in previous contracts to a lower wage for hotel workers in the first three years of their employment.
But Disney now wants to eliminate the free health plan for new hires and wants to create a new class of workers who put in less than 30 hours a week, said Briceno. Those part-time workers would receive no sick or vacation pay and not be given holidays, she said.
The company also wants to increase the number of hours full-time employees must work before qualifying for the health plan, she said.
"At the end of the day what it means is that workers are going to be priced out of health care," she said.
Haines said the majority of other employees at Disneyland pay for a share of their health plan, even though the resort shoulders about 75 percent of the overall cost. She said it's important to negotiate a contract that's fair to those other unions, too.
"We do remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement that's both fair and equitable, providing that union leadership is reasonable and realistic in its approach," Haines said.
Online Dating and Self Publishing....Future of a Younger Generations
When the first online dating sites popped up, people were hesitant to say they met someone online. They wondered if this made them look desperate. Times have change.
The Facebook Generation, I have to admit I am addicted as well, is comfortable with virtual friends and connecting to people with like/similar interest. I must add, caution always imperative
when meeting strangers anywhere!
In our fairy tale, Princess Bubble, the main character joins www.FindYourPrince.com to date. The modern version of a fairy tale ball.
This same generation of constant computer users, blogs and publishes everything online from independent films to columns that have daily followings. I believe this blogging bunch will not see self publishing at
all as negative or second rate. Kim Webb and I self published Princess Bubble because we needed to reach girls a.s.a.p. with our message of true meaning of "Happily Ever After!" So many young girls are starving
and compromising themselves for the attention of a boy/man.Recently CNN reported staggering numbers of teen girls are in abusive relationships! Kim and I felt did not have time for some agent to agree with us and then to find a publisher. We needed to start reaching girls as soon as possible! Now, we have reached people and appeared on The Today Show, CNN and many other media outlets and would welcome the right publisher because this is a lot of work! And we both have full time jobs.
But the stigma continues, despite national attention, our hometown paper The Atlanta Journal and Constitution emailed me, "We typically don't write about self-published books..." I found this so interesting! Nancy Pelosi's book is currently rated #1,681,028 on Amazon, but she does have a publisher.
All of this will soon change. Just as the perception of online dating has changed, self publishing will one day not carry the same stigma it does today. I am proud of the work we have done and all we have learned. Exhausted! But proud. And encourage everyone to follow their dreams even if you have to go a non-traditional route.
