in time for womens' history month

On behalf of females everywhere, I salute you, Don Lemon!

It took a few days, but Mr. Lemon did apologize, and for that he should be commended. We live in an age where the “Never apologize, never explain” has been taken too much to heart and as we all know, “To err is human, to forgive…”

I reckon it’s safe to say, that Don Lemon has come to realize that a man weighing in on ANYTHING to do with what women are or how women are

is not unlike dogs weighing in on the healthcare of cats.

So with a nod to the now chastened, but still still fabulously stylish Mr. Lemon, the below is a celebration of women in their prime.

And what is one’s prime, really? The novelist Muriel Spark explored this with the superb Prime of Miss Jean Brodie wherein early on, Miss Brodie says, "One's prime is elusive. You little girls when you grow up must be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full."

Here are seven women, all past the age of sixty and who are firmly, completely in their prime.

We all know at least another two who could be alongside Oprah....

Diana Nyad swam from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage at the age of 64. Michelle Yeoh, who is 60 and does her own stunts, is not only an action hero super star, this year she’s been nominated for the Academy Award’s best actress. The Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland isn’t past her prime- after all, she got her law degree as a working mom, and also continues to pay student loans at the same time as serving in the cabinet.  My representative in Washington, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman effectively serves her constituents, even at the age of 78.

Pulitzer Prize winning Novelist Elizabeth Strout describes her 66^th year on the planet as having been the most productive she’s had as a writer. Senator Elizabeth Warren ran for president at the age of 70, and while she only lasted during the primaries, she kicked ass. And of course, lest anyone forget, there is Ms. Oprah Winfrey, someone whose visibility demonstrates that a woman’s prime is as eternal as she chooses  it to be.

We are so much more than a cut of beef, a membership at Amazon, or a baby making/child rearing device.  All of us, all of us, must open our minds to clear away these misogynistic stereo types which were largely determined by the guys who decided what was what. Because believe me when I say, it isn’t that anymore. 

Ms. Yeoh says of her character, “She could be any woman you pass in the street. But at the end of the day, she finds her super power which we all have, which is kindness and love.”

Females – those of every color, shape and size– only come into our own, into our prime, when we move past society’s predetermined categories. Being free of those expectations is what allows us to shine. As the sublime, magnificent Michelle Yeoh said, “Things have changed. But we can’t sit back and say, ok, we’ve done it. We have to keep evolving, we have to keep pushing the envelope. And we should do that together. “