Metro Cigar News Fall 1999

By Bill Histed If I wrote a song, it would be to women who are middle age and up. It would be to those who did a lot more for our world than they will ever get credit for.

They lived in a time before equal opportunities as guaranteed by law. They did not need the courts or lawyers to tell them they were important. They worked and gave and they often did so without complaint... even if that work was done at home or in jobs once though to be mostly "for women" such as teaching, cooking, nursing, telephone operators, cashiers and the like.

Women years ago were not "prepared" for equal careers and opportunity as they are today. Most women today have to work to keep up a decent standard of living. I am not faulting that. In a house-hold with two working, if just about takes one to pay all of the taxes and hidden fees anymore. I sometimes think the politicians encourage women to work to take 45 percent of their efforts out in various taxes, just as they do their husbands or mates. It might be the largest beneficiary of the second paycheck is the federal government.

When women mostly worked at home, their efforts were not rewarded in cash that third parties, such as politicians, could easily get their hands on.

Women have done much more than they usually are given credit for. And I'm not talking about running for attorney, which is okay in my book if a woman wants to do that. But I AM talking about the fact that throughout our history, women, especially "stay at home" women, have been given less attention than they deserved.

Tens and tens of millions of women never got a paycheck for giving birth, for nurturing children, for being a help-made or soul-mate to their husbands. Billions were served - as hamburger chain says - billions of meals were prepared without pay or a 401 K plan.

Economic and social changes have caused the majority of young women to work and today's young women are studying for careers in most technical and legalistic of fields. There is a glass ceiling for women, but it has begun to fall. Computers and the internet will hurry the continuing fall.

But just as we sometimes tend to forget or take for granted veterans of our past wars, let us not forget the women who helped build our families, our culture, our churches, our cities and our nation in an era before job descriptions and titles for females. They worked probably just as hard and with just as much dedication.

Because they did not have titles behind their names in the past - or a large retirement account - does not mean that their work was not important.

To those women who worked even at home and helped build families and our world - THANK YOU.