Oh yes, we were the Golden Girls of that long-ago Spring
We were resplendent in our crinoline skirts, our panty girdles and circular-stitched white cotton bras.

We didn’t play sports in school.
There were no organized sports for girls.
We marched in the band, acted in plays, and took Home Economics.

We didn’t wear pants in school –it was forbidden – no matter the cold.

We knew the rules and we followed the rules.
We were the good girls  – these Golden Girls of Spring.

We dreamed our dreams of being carried away by Prince Charming.
He would arrive on his dancing white steed.
We planned to go to college to study to be a nurse, a teacher, a secretary.
Nothing else was possible, and so we limited our dreams.

We began to hear a song of never-sung concepts.
Equal pay for women. The freedom to make choices about our own bodies.

We accepted that we could become doctors, lawyers, anything we wanted.
We began to worship at the altars of our new heroes; Gloria Steinem, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Helen Gurley Brown.

We took off our girdles, burned our bras, and took to the street
to march in protest for the past humiliations of all women.

We were determined to be equal, so we signed petitions suing Rotary, Lions Club, and any organization that suppressed us.

Yes, we did that.

Our blond, black, and red heads were the battering rams used to break that invisible glass ceiling.

Now, the torch is passed to you,
You GOLDEN GIRLS OF SUMMER.
Carry it high, carry it well, carry it for all the Golden Girls who have gone before you, and carry it for all who will come after you.

You are the hope of the women of the world. For all future generations of women.