Every other year or so it seems, my wife spends a lot of time at a production plant. Sometimes I come along, sometimes I go on vacation with the kid. Every time she goes to a plant, someone approaches her and talks to her about their daughter. This time was no exception.

There's a common thread that runs through all these people. The plants are mostly in non-urban areas where one factory employs a significant percentage of the town's population. So this guy comes up and wants to talk about his girl. She's still in high school, bright, and one of only two girls in her math class. She wants to go to college but he thinks they can't afford it. They have three kids. She doesn't think that girls can become engineers, doctors, scientists, even though there's plenty of evidence to the contrary. It seems as if somebody has been telling her ever since she was born that girls can't, and don't, do these things.

It's strange to listen to my wife talk about these encounters. When she talks about her background the men step back as if she's some freak. When she talks about her job, the men look at her she's from some kind of exclusive private club, something that can never be attained by people like them.

It's just freakin' amazing. These people are so grateful for their jobs. It's quite a different world here.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman