I Wish I Had Known Her

A nice WaPost article about the late Deborah Howell, a pioneer among women in journalism. According to the article, at one time she had competing nicknames in the newsroom: Mother Mary Deborah and The Dragon Lady. There's no winning the gender-expectations game.

I do find it funny when writers present a subject's physical stature in opposition to her/his (usually her) language: "Small and slender, Ms. Howell 'could curse like a longshoreman.'"

Does it seem as if a lot of trailblazers are dying lately? Sad.