Feeling mighty. I am woman.
Hear me roar.
Took the car in for an oil change –
the nice cashier brought up
a list of things to pour
into my auto. I listened
and then asked, “But my car
is a standard. Why would it need
automatic transmission fluid?”
And he nodded his head –
Yes, a standard.
“A stickshift,” I said,
wanting to be clear. And he stopped
short then. Peeked in my window –
Ohhhhh. A manual. And I got it –
who could have guessed
that a gray-haired Karen drove
one of those?! A standard doesn’t fit
the demographic
and isn’t it fantastic
that my father taught me to drive
on that old VW van?
The nice young cashier clicked
a button and my bill magically
became forty dollars less than
it had been.
I am woman. Hear me roar.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell