We're the same age, John. A lot about my life would be different by just being a woman: no mass -produced, sanitary napkins or tampons, no birth control pills, and a bad menopause could have land me in a mental hospital, as could adultry or excessive novel reading. I could not get a home loan or vote. I'd have to wear a corset. Unless "I" (meaning my husband or father) was rich, I'd be scrubbing floors, hauling coal or chopping firewood. There's a good chance I'd have died in childbirth since my blood pressure took a nose dive as I gave birth to my son. It's no contest for me. I'm delighted to have been born when I was. The music alone is worth it.