Rita Pike

Fifty-six-years ago today, a woman from Ohio became the first woman to fly solo around the world.
No, you are not doing the maths wrong. I am not talking about that other, much more famous, female American aviator. I am talking about Jerrie Mock, private pilot, housewife – and my grandmother.
When she left for her round-the-world adventure, she was dubbed The Flying Housewife by the media.
She was a 38-year-old mother of three who had wanted to fly around the world since she was a little girl...

Fiction, nonfiction, interview, column, & poetry

“Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?”
“Don’t mention that man to me…he’s drunk, he’s mad, and he never pays his bills.”
When this episode of Doctor Who begins, we laugh at the absurdity that this restaurateur would reject one of the most famous paintings in the world because the man trying to hawk it was a bit of a drunk. Any of us would accept this piece, even if we’re not personally fond of the man’s work. We know its value, which is: practically priceless.
[Content Warning: this es...

As a Jewish woman and as a human being, I was shocked to learn of the massive misinformation and lack of knowledge regarding the Holocaust that’s been making news. Before I knew of my own Jewish heritage – hidden for at least a generation by family members because of fear – I drove by the Dachau Concentration Camp in Bavaria, Germany. Built-in 1933, this was the first concentration camp set up by the Nazis and the remaining evidence on the site is overwhelming, horrifying, and heart-shatterin...

It began with the dream of a little girl taking her first airplane ride. In 1932, in Newark, Ohio, that little girl understood what her destiny held, even if not the details. “I will fly around the world.”

In grade school, she studied the atlases of the world and found two more dreams for her life: to ride a camel in the Sahara and to ride an elephant. In college, she was the only female in a class of 100 studying aeronautical engineering.

As the years passed, she pursued her dreams as b...

I should be in a small aircraft taking my first flying lesson in my grandmother’s honor, but thanks to the COVID-19 shut-downs, this dream is on pause.
Fifty-six years ago, my grandmother, Jerrie Mock, did something that the world still gets wrong – she was the first woman to fly around the world.
Jerrie answers the phone immediately after arrival in Hawaii, round-the-world flight
In elementary school, teachers told us that Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly around the world. My little...

Whether you’ve heard of Australian singer Helen Reddy or not, you might have heard the words to her 1971 smash hit “I Am Woman.” The song became an anthem during the women’s liberation movement for good reason and not simply because of the lyrics, but because of Reddy herself.
In a recent interview, Unjoo Moon, director, producer, and visionary behind this incredible film shared her journey with me. Her personal connection...

A casual critic’s review of the Wonder Woman 1984 film, released in December 2020. INCLUDES SPOILERS.
Rita Mock-Pike
Since the Black Widow movie was postponed, the only film I was looking forward to releasing in 2020 was Wonder Woman 1984.
The first, entitled simply Wonder Woman, which came out in 2017, was my gateway film to superhero movies. Not to say I didn’t already own Batman Begins and hadn’t seen a few others in times past, but until watching Wonder Woman, I thought all s...

American founding father, Benjamin Franklin, once told us that only two things in life are certain: death and tax-es. In the late 1960s, my grandmother, Geraldine ‘Jerrie’ Mock, discovered the second to be true. You see, in 1964, she was dubbed the ‘flying housewife’ by the media as she set out to claim the title of first woman to fly around the world. Twenty-nine days later – after surviving sand-storms, iced-over wings and engine troubles – she landed back in Ohio on April 17 and claimed that title...

Every aspect of Elsa Collins’ work is centered on social justice and service to others. She co-founded This Is About Humanity, an organization raising awareness and funds for separated and reunited families at the Mexican/U.S. border. She also founded The Ideateur, a social impact and civics consultancy working towards genuine justice in the United States.
In 2020, she also co-founded She Se Puede, a digital community platform created to foster a community for the Latina community and empower...

You can find my weekly online wedding features and bi-monthly blog posts on Virginia Bride Magazine.

Poetry

A mug of tea steaming on the desk,
a bottle of water waiting for exercise.
Boxes scattered around the room
as the Christmas season says farewell
and Easter peeks through Lenten windows.
Inspiration buds on the lips of my dreams
but exhaustion and the rhythm of life
keep pushing me down.
I can’t think – can’t focus – can’t create
these anxieties mingling with what I want to do.
Inspiration won’t strike every day.
It can’t – it doesn’t work that way.
The muse is not a slave – may...

As spring awakens, many of us are feeling the urge to get into strength training sessions outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air. I know I am! As a former I.S.S.A. certified personal trainer, I am eager to offer up some ideas to help folks get out there and get active.
For those with some space out back, it’s the perfect time to set up your own backyard gym with all the permanent equipment you need for all the seasons you can work out in the open air. If you’re not quite sure what to install ...

Thanks to the giant spikes in COVID-19 cases, in mid-November, Chicago’s mayor Lori Lightfoot put out a stay-at-home request for everyone extending out into the suburbs where I live. Immediately, our holiday plays came to mind. The mayor is asking us to stay at home, cancel Thanksgiving plans, and survive the holidays without family.
My husband and I would survive the holiday together alone, but so many of our friends and family live on their own. They have no one to see, no ...