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Good grief!

That was the first thought that ran through my mind when I recently (as of June, 1999) glanced at rainbow.org's counter. Over 38,000 hits! Sometimes, I'd forget I owned this domain... I registered it in 1997, and my original plans for a website were put aside due to a family crisis. And then, well... I was nagged to put up some kind of page, so people wouldn't keep emailing me and asking "why can't I get the page to come up? All it says is '404 Not Found'!" Out of sheer curiosity, I set up a counter in addition to a link to Supreme's website and my rant about 'what's wrong with Rainbow today', then again, promptly forgot all about the domain name... Except for the occasional emails I got from people, which ranged from the normal hellos (hi back!) to the compliments (I'm not a fantastic web designer, but thank you for thinking so, and even going so far as to say my site looked better than Supreme Assembly's used to; no, I don't know what they were thinking when they created it, other than "let's use lots of tacky graphics on a blinding yellow background!" I'm glad they redesigned it!), to the truly bizarre ("Are you the hippie cult that kidnaps children and gets them addicted to drugs? Shame on you!").

And so this prompted me to really TRY and do something with Rainbow.org in March of 2001.

text revised and added to on 05-19-02


So, what to do, what to do? Obviously, people are interested in this site. Why, I sometimes wonder. Maybe those who know what they're looking for aren't satisfied with the little and vague information that I've found for Rainbow out on the net. (If you know of good websites for Rainbow, clue me in!)

I guess I'm just trying to provide an alternate Rainbow site (but not replace the official one!)... but to have a site with information that is useful and interesting to the Order. Things about other Grand Jurisdictions, flag tributes, ideas on fun things to do, or fundraisers. Help for the WA-to-be on planning her term. Displaying my collection of Rainbow Girls memorabilia, so that girls today can see how Rainbow has evolved over eighty years... (BTW: have you seen our original emblem? Personally, I like it much better. Ours today is so... complicated!)

I really and truly wish Supreme Assembly's official website were, well... "cooler", for lack of a more descriptive word. I don't know if you've seen the official sites for The International Order of Job's Daughters or DeMolay International, but, in my not so humble opinion (and with no offense towards IORG's web designer), those two sites put our own Supreme Assembly's site to shame, both graphically and in content. I'd love to see it improved upon and become the visually appealing, yet vital resource that I know it could and should be. Even the Rainbow Revitalization Task Force website looks nice, and finally has the content to match. They're doing something to try and make Rainbow all it could and should be, and I hope others follow their example.

Did you know DeMolay's site not only has an interactive 'flash' walkthrough of what DeMolay is like, but that you can buy a mini-CDrom to give to prospective members that explains all about their Order? Why doesn't Rainbow have anything like that?

I don't know what I can do to help those who are involved in Rainbow (both girls and adults), but I'm willing to give it a try, using this website as my 'platform', if you will. I'm afraid I can't create a flash explanation of Rainbow, or make a CD-rom (well, maybe I *could* do either one of those things, with time, but I'm sure I'd get in trouble for it, since I'm not 'official' and don't have permission or anything.)

I know that in many places, Rainbow is declining in membership, due to things like school, church, sports, other organizations, busier lifestyles of both girls and their parents, and so on. I'm also willing to bet part of it's due to the "less-than-cool" image that Rainbow seems to project at times. When you talk about it to your friends who aren't in Rainbow, do they say things like, "You have to wear formals? and memorize speeches? and deliver those speeches in front of other people on a regular basis? That seems, kind of, well... nerdy." And do you get discouraged, or feel embarrassed to talk to them about it? Well, don't!

Tell them that Rainbow is so much more than that, more than what's stated on those corny pamphlets produced by Supreme or Grand Assemblies that you have out at fundraisers and the like! Tell them how you make wonderful friends with girls outside your own peer group (from ages from 11 to 20), you're involved with fundraisers, and have fun trips and parties. Mention the float you decorate and ride on in the local yearly parade or festival, the Installations and dances that you, DeMolay, and Job's Daughters have, the annual Masonic families Picnic put on by your local Lodge, and how you've beaten the women in Eastern Star nine times out of 10 in the volleyball game. Talk about how you learn a lot about public speaking and memorization skills, and how it's reduced your nervousness when you have to give a report in front of your History class. Tell them about the feeling of satisfaction you get from the charity work you do, which could mean the personal things like spending time with senior citizens in a retirement home (who may not have visitors very often), or helping to provide meals and Christmas presents for the needy, or raising money for projects like seeing eye dogs, or cancer research, or the many other worthy causes, like your State's yearly service project. Tell them they may have a chance at being an officer, and even leading the Assembly as it's president ('Worthy Advisor') for a term, which is hard, but satisfying work! Show them that you earn rewards, like the merit bars, or Perfect Attendance, and other things. Mention how some girls even get to be a state ('Grand') Officer or Representative, and all the neat things they get to do!

You've heard of the Pilot Assembly Program, the new dress code, and other "modernizations" the Revitalization Task Force is working on, right? Share that knowledge with your friends, too.

And, let's face it, you have to point out that this kind of involvement in an organization can help you in your future life. All the work you do, and the things you've learned, look pretty good on resumés, for one thing. Plus, you acquire a lot of practical knowledge; the aforementioned public speaking and memorization skills, in addition to leadership, responsibility, etiquette, parliamentary procedure (a.k.a. Robert's Rules of Order), organization, and event planning. You never know when these talents will come in handy.

(Funny side story: I got married in the summer of 2000, and my friends and family know I tend to get anxious, even panicky, about details, and things going wrong. My bridesmaids and I were in my hotel suite dressing, and getting our hair and makeup done, and my sister came in and said, "please don't panic, but..." and proceeded to tell me the bridesmaids' dresses hadn't been altered -- the skirts and crinolines were way too long, and one of the girls' bodice was hanging off her so much you could almost see her navel. I didn't bat an eyelash. "No problem," I replied, and told them there was a white bag marked "Emergency Kit" on the table, where they would find duct tape for hemming the dresses and helping to secure the bodice to the one girl's bra, and safety pins for attaching the crinolines to the undersides of their longline bras, once they got them tucked up underneath, and lots more items. "Find my mom or someone to help you. It'll work out," said I as I waved them away. The hairstylist looked at me, startled, and said, "You are the calmest bride I have ever seen." "No," I replied, "I was a Rainbow Girl. We wore formals to important events and meetings all the time, and I've seen accidents and disasters happen to dresses. This is a piece of cake." Then I went and tried on my shoes, deemed them too slippery to walk on, and slapped a length of duct tape on the bottom of each shoe. Doubtless I'd have been an hysterical, nervous wreck if I hadn't had my experiences and training in Rainbow to fall back on.)

Back to the topic of declining membership. I was told recently that my own Assembly folded about two years ago. I was devastated by the news... it was started in 1930 -- the charter signed by W. Mark Sexson himself! At one point, in the 1960's, we were possibly the largest Assembly in the state of California, with well over 200 active members! A couple of GWA's came from our ranks, as well as about 40 other Grand Officers. Now I've moved back to the area I grew up in, and hopefully, in the next year or so, I'll be able to get girls and prospective board members together to meet with the local Lodge and Star Chapter and get them to shift out of neutral and get that Assembly reinstated! And when I do, rest assured I'll be boasting about our great Assembly all over the net!

(Want to get sidetracked by more of my feelings and opinions on why Rainbow seems to be declining? Go here and read my rantings. Otherwise, read on!)

So, now, on to the possibilities for this site. I'm open to suggestions!

I was talking with another PWA from my Assembly (contrary to popular adult belief, that does stand for Past Worthy Advisor, not Past Worth Acknowledging!) about this domain, and the idea was brought up to share Assembly traditions, term ideas for Worthy Advisors, and other fun stuff. Check out what has been shared already!

Perhaps we can get a Rainbow FAQ (that's Frequently Asked Questions) of sorts going online here. Perhaps we can get an "Ask Suzy Sunshine" section going, for questions about Rainbow. Possibly even a message board for Rainbow girls from around the world can chat on. And one for the "adults", too.

There are so many possibilities I'm sure I haven't thought of yet. Enlighten me!

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