My mother taught me so many things, it’s hard to choose which to write about. What always stands out for me was her fierce independence as a young woman. She told me she could do anything as well as the boys when she was a kid and she proved it to them often. She ran away from an abusive father to California and found her “Golden Dream." She instilled in me a sense of being my own woman, and not to depend on a man. Yet, she always wanted to be a lady and have doors opened for her. She taught me: A little lipstick goes a long way. She was the first feminist (without knowing it) I ever met. The...