She was born with all the fanfare a small town could muster in 1961 on May 30th, the original Memorial Day. According to family legend, she was welcomed to the world by the Riverside String Band who was marching past the hospital at the exact moment she was auditioning her first barbarous yawp.

When news traveled to the family picnic several blocks away, a cheer went up for the gods had finally graced the clan with a girl. Her four older cousins playing football in the yard most likely expressed disappointment that their run had been interrupted. However, she would prove to be a blip in the dominance of Y chromosomes, as six more boys would be born before another girl would arrive— and that wouldn’t happen until she had been queen for fourteen years.

Although her mother was a fledgling feminist, and her paternal grandmother a formidable woman despite her generation, the baby was brought home completely outfitted in pink tulle and lace.