I need to give a Happy Birthday shout to Betty Friedan. Yes. I know she is dead, but I keep thinking her spirit and intellect will appear again somewhere in the multiverse. Her book, The Feminine Mistique, prodded me to reexamine my life in Germany and in German society. Her book stirred my decision to pick the job with the American Forces Command in Fürth, Germany instead of the job with Hilton Hotels in Shanghai. Both wanted me for my linguistic skills.
I chose the Army job. America has often disappointed me, but there is such an underlying spirit of hope in this country. It is irresistible.
Betty Friedan died on the same day she was born, Feb 4th, 2006.