October 11

I don't know if you remember what you were doing exactly 40 years ago this minute, but I do.

I was giving birth to a 7 pound, 8 ounce baby girl. She was a little short on hair, which a few months later came in orange and stuck straight up all over her head like a halo or an alien helmet. By the time she was a year old, she'd been walking for three months and had just enough hair to look like a boy. A few years later, her hair turned dark and thick and gorgeous. It's still gorgeous. And so is she -- as well as being smart, sharp, funny, and kind.

My daughter isn't the only remarkable woman born today. It's also the birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt, ardent opponent of the separate but equal doctrine and a principal author of the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It's a good day all around.