Feminists

My grandmother was friends with a mayor. A mayor! A LADY mayor, too.

Nana was so pleased that her friend was reinstated for the day so that she could officiate at her son's wedding. She told me all about it.

The whole time, I was thinking, "There are lady mayors who are Nana's age?!" First, I had to understand that mayors can officiate at weddings. Who knew? But I found it completely amazing that Nana was friends with the mayor of a nearby town.

She was a great mayor, too. As it happens, I now live in the town of which she was formerly mayor. When I go to the Town Hall, I pass a courtroom named after her. They're planting a tree in her memory this weekend. And when we first moved here, when she was still alive, every Democrat in town sought her endorsement.

And she was friends with MY Nana.

See, my Nana was a quiet lady. She was, in fact, a librarian. That's how quiet she was. But she was also that smart. Usually, I think of her and her generation as old-fashioned. After all, they were the parents of the Baby Boomers. They defined the Generation Gap. But the women my Nana chose as friends were all smart. Many of them (including my Nana) had careers. And many of them were active Feminists. (After all, Betty Freidan was only a few years younger than my Nana.)

I love to hear about the Vassar alumnae who went out and faced the world, breaking down gender barriers as they went. But I forget about the women closer to home--the Teachers and Librarians and scientists and businesswomen who faced down sexism to reach their goals.

I'm proud of my Nana and her friends.