[parsifal]

Possibly something there. But I have had three kids. Wives were up and about well within 3 weeks. Now, sleep-—that’s another matter. Who took care of the baby, granny or mommy? A newborn and a college schedule would be a little rough....

Oh yes, the birther threads get intense.

parsy, who is used to it...

[Mamzelle]

Giving birth in 1961 was much different than it is today. Remember when a mother got to spend a week in the hospital? Now, think about being a teen mother deserted by "husband." And think about having a white teen mother, mixed race infant in a new city by herself--in 1961, in Seattle, not Hawaii.

Times were very different. Women were not as independent, nor society as open to things not the norm. A white woman with a black infant would have attracted many stares. Air travel was not the bus ride that it is today. It doesn't seem remarkable until you remember that this was the Eisenhower era (maybe not the administration), where girls expected to grow up to be housewives after a year or two of being a secretary.