You'll Need a Husband for That

I met this lady today and the minute she told me that she fed her 15-year-old poodles organic food that she makes herself, I knew that she must have been a 70's hippie-lady. And later, when I asked her what her last name was, she said, "My last name or my husband's last name, because we have DIFFERENT last names."

It's kind of funny because I didn't take my husband's last name, although a lot of my married women friends have started to do that. It's not that big a deal now, but in the 70's, when this lady did it, it was a really RADICAL notion. And I could tell that she still kind of feels that way, by her reaction.

In Taiwan, where my mother is from, a woman doesn't take her husband's last name. She's still called by her maiden name, but she may also be called So-and-so Tai Tai, which means Mrs. So-and-so.

But the last name issue got us to talking and she told me that when she first got married, she couldn't get a credit card because she kept her maiden name. The credit card company didn't issue cards to women unless they were married and had their husband's name.

Boy, how times have changed.