We lost someone this week that was important as a symbol of what we can achieve if we believe and work towards an end. Gloria was my 2nd cousin, and when you come from a small family tree, every loss means something. She just cast a bigger shadow than most of us.
I didn’t know her well but over the years we would catch up and talk about what we were doing and what was going on in the world. We would laugh about our uncle, who had written his Christmas letter one year and went on to deride Gloria and her work, and in typical fashion she had it framed and put over the commode in her bathroom, just because. We mussed how growing up in a very male dominated family, it was the women who had made their marks, both on the Steinem side and the Jacob side (my maternal family)
Jeff and I had the opportunity to visit with her in NYC in December and though frail in appearance, she has always been thin, she was still very much her true self, open, welcoming and curious.
Her passing marks a era that many of us not only grew up in, but gained freedom, rights and acceptance that allowed us to pursue our chosen paths.
For that I will always be grateful