I hadn’t planned, of course, on devoting so much time lately to real life, but today marks both a birth and a death in another double: aviation and women’s affairs. Amelia Earhart was born on this day in 1897, and was, of course, the woman who pioneered the way for women pilots. And news came in this morning that Dr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut and a long-time professor of physics, died of pancreatic cancer. Sally’s famous ride on the shuttle Challenger never would have happened if not for Amelia’s groundbreaking days in the 1920s and 1930s. Both these women are inspirations to all women, including myself and my daughter.
