"When I look at girls today," Aunt Sarah said, "I think that I was born too soon." It was early morning and we were sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee. "Women now wear pants and they look so comfortable."

"They are," I told her.

"I wanted to wear pants when I was a girl," Aunt Sarah sighed, "but Mama wouldn't hear of it."

"You had to wear dresses all of the time?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said. "Ladies didn't wear pants when I was young. Poor Mama, she tried to make me into a lady but I didn't want to be a lady," Aunt Sarah laughed. "Women just weren't treated right in that day. Colorado was the second state in the Union to give women the right to vote but I was 19 years old before Mama could vote.

Since I was the youngest of 13 kids and only had one sister Mama wanted me to dress like a proper young lady. She loved to make me frilly dresses, but she was so busy she didn't have time to pursue her sewing hobby much. There was always patching to do and there wasn't anytime left over for flounce, thank the good Lord.

I was a tomboy. It seemed to me ladies never had any fun. They had to cook, wash dishes, iron. Boys had all the fun! No wonder I was a roughneck with all those big brothers.

If I had my way I'd have worn pants instead of those frightful long dresses and pantaloons but Mama wouldn't hear of it. Many times when the boys and I got away from home I tucked my dress in my bloomers so I could climb the La Junta hills while we were exploring. I didn't let Mama see me doing that, she would have had a fit.

I remember one time when I tried extra hard to talk Mama into letting me wear pants. That was the day that Oscar couldn't button his trousers.

'I declare Oscar, you're growing like a weed.' Mama sighed. 'We'll have to give these to one of your nephews. There's still some good wear in them.' When she laid them down I picked those pants up. Here was my chance.

'Mama,' I said as I held them up, 'I think these will fit me.' I held my breath hopefully.

'No, they won't,' Mama grabbed them away from me quick. 'These are boys' trousers. Girls don't wear boys pants.'

'But Mama,' I moaned, 'why not? They look like they'd be easy on the bones, lots better than that hot dress.'

'Because,' Mama answered, she was using her "no nonsense voice." 'The Bible tells us that women aren't supposed to dress in men's clothing.'

'I'm not a woman,' I protested. 'I'm a girl and Oscar's sure not a man.'

'Yes, I am.' Oscar stopped his whittling to glare at me.

'No, you're not,' I shouted. Oscar was getting too big for his britches. 'You stay out of this.' He didn't know what it was like to have to wear hot, scratchy bloomers and petticoats and long dresses.

'Stop hollering, Sarah,' Mama said. 'It won't do you any good. Ladies don't wear men's clothes. We won't discuss it anymore.'

I knew better than to argue with Mama, but I was so troubled when she gave them away I spilled a few tears over those pants.

Much to Mama's dismay I liked to do the things the boys did. They liked to play baseball and so did I. I was good at it too. I had to be good or the boys wouldn't let me play. At first they made me the water girl. I didn't want to spend all my time carrying water for the boys to drink so I learned real fast to hit the ball and run like the breeze.

Oh, that doesn't mean that I didn't like a few ladylike things too. I loved Mandy, my beautiful rag doll that Mama made. I played with the girls at school, but when I was playing with my brothers and my nephews my favorite game was baseball.

Like I said girls just weren't treated fair in those days. The cantankerous boys at school wouldn't let me play baseball with them.

'Girls don't play baseball,' Edgar Wilkins told me every time I asked if I could play. I was mad, he was about the meanest boy I ever saw.

'They do too,' I said. 'You're not the boss anyway. Albert can I play?'

But even my brothers turned against me. 'Go play with your dolls,' Albert told me. He treated me just like a baby.

But my chance finally came. It happened on the last day of school. We had a big picnic and all the women brought food. There was chicken and ham, potato salad, baked beans, rolls, pies of all sorts and cookies and cakes. After lunch the boys dared all the fathers to play a game of baseball against them. I wanted to get in that game so bad I could taste it but the boys told me no as usual. I sat and watched them play, the boys were losing.

Then Edgar Wilkins' wings were clipped. He hurt his leg and was taken out of the game.

'Serves him right,' I said to myself.

About that time Albert fell down and skinned his pitching arm. He kept rubbing at it and after that he couldn't hit a ball or throw worth a plug nickel. Those fathers were beating the britches off the boys.

Pretty soon the boys got into a huddle. Albert was saying something and they were whispering. They all started turning their heads to look at me. Then they did some more mumbling. I had my fingers crossed, maybe, just maybe, they'd let me play. I was just about bursting with excitement when Albert walked over to me.

"Okay, Sadie," he said. "I told them you could play baseball good, even if you're a girl, so they decided to give you a try. You better do your best."

I was so fluttered I forgot and starting tucking my dress into my bloomers, but then I remembered that Mama was there, so I pulled it out real fast. I'd just have to hitch my dress up. I sure hoped I wouldn't trip and fall.

The bases were loaded and I was proud as a strutting rooster as I stepped out in the field. I picked up that bat and swung it as good as any boy ever did but I missed the ball, strike one. The second ball was good. I swung hard, I would knock that ball clean downtown La Junta but the ball whizzed by me, strike two.

Now I wasn't so smug, I was downright troubled, if I was struck out with all those kids on bases those boys would never let me play again. I said a fast prayer and barely breathed as that third ball came at me. Boy that prayer must have worked, I hit the ball and it went clear across the field. I picked up my skirts and ran like there was no tomorrow. I made a home run and first thing I knew the boys were all patting me on the back.

Edgar Wilkins really surprised me. 'You don't play too bad,' he said, 'for a girl.'

Well, we didn't win the game, the Fathers still beat us by four points, but those boys never tried to tell me again "Girls don't play baseball." Fact is they even asked me to play with them once in awhile, when they were short of boys."