The Writer's Almanac

I loved poetry and literature when I was in high school and college. Growing up, there were times I thought about becoming a writer but I am too Type A and I knew being a writer didn't produce a steady income. I am happy in my current job but I have always thought if I quit I would become a high school literature teacher. But that probably will never happen.

There is a show on NPR hosted by Garrison Keillor called The Writer's Almanac. It allows me entry into that world that has become somewhat foreign. The show is only five minutes long from 6:35-6:40 am. If I time it right I can listen to the show while I am driving to work. I love the days this happens.

This week I was able to listen to The Writer's Almanac twice and one of the poems really stuck with me. I found the poem funny. I am not sure if the author meant it to be funny but the last line makes me smile.

Clara: In the Post Office
by Linda Hasselstron

I keep telling you, I'm not a feminist.
I grew up an only child on a ranch,
so I drove tractors, learned to ride.
When the truck wouldn't start, I went to town
for parts. The man behind the counter
told me I couldn't rebuild a carburetor.
I could: every carburetor on the place. That's
necessity, not feminism.
I learned to do the books
after my husband left me and the debts
and the children. I shoveled snow and pitched hay
when the hired man didn't come to work.
I learned how to pull a calf
when the vet was too busy. As I thought,
the cow did most of it herself; they've been
birthing alone for ten thousand years. Does
that make them feminists?
It's not
that I don't like men; I love them - when I can.
But I've stopped counting on them
to change my flats or open my doors.
That's not feminism; that's just good sense.