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Show day The Salt Lake Tri bune SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 1996 PERSONALS Page J-4,5 SECTIONJ ATTITUDE Page J-6 THE TAXWOMAN GOETH ty 4 U aay ty, “yy LULile LL | Al Hartmann/TheSalt Lake Tribune Carol Fay broke glass ceiling at the IRS, becoming one offirst women in administration. IRS Director Devotes Retirement to Community Sean P. Means E SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Down at the Internal Revenue Service's Utah district office, the people who collect your taxes will take time out Friday to celebrate the retire- ment of Carol M. Fay, their boss for nearly 14 years. If you cancall it retirement ForFay, it’s largely a matter of changing jobs. Afternearly 35 years on the federal government's payroll, the 60-year-old Fay is “beginning another chapterin mylife,” she mploying her formidable business,and organizational acumen in new ways Racgsion PE AOR Fay began her federal odyssey in 1961 as a claims representative for the Social Security Ad- ministration. The San Francisconative had worked her way upto district manager in Phoenix when the IRS recruited her in 1973. There were very few womeninall the IRS hierarchy,” Fay says. “The male executives weren't usedto having a female executive. It was justa matter of being different,” After stints in Portland, Ore., and Atlanta, Fay was nameddirector of the Utah district office in April 1981. She was only the second womanto head one of the IRS’ 63 district offices — andthefirst in the West Being a femaleboss in a male-dominated agency, Fayfoundshehadto prove herself. Initially, whenI was selected, the question was whether I was selected as a woman. When I showed that I was competent anddid a goodjob, that never was questionedor wasa topicof conversation,” she With My Hearing, I’ve Regained Roarof Traffic And Soft-Spoken Friends By Pat Capson Brown SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE I returned to the world last month — the hearing world After years of denial and accommodation, I took myself to an ear specialist (I’m sure he has a moreesoteric title) and, after a series of highech computerizedtests spanning several visits, I alked out to the sound of mysandals squeaking onthetile floor and the roarof traffic Hearing loss came graduallyto me, as it does to most people. Probably the first sounds to go werethe digital alarm, then the birds, the crickets, all British television comedies and soft-spoken relatives andfriends. Almost imperceptively, my lifestyle changed. I gave up going to plays unless I could read the script first. (I read “Angels in America” before and after the performance.) Instead, I chose musicals such as “Hello, Dolly!” with a bold, brassy score and scantplot. “Dolly” worked well for me because I could read the original script — Thorn- ton Wilder's “The Match Maker’ — then enjoy the musicalversion. Movies were iffy. The high-decibel wraparound Dolby soundthat kicked off the previews and offended mostpatrons wasfine with me, and to see “Belle de Jour” with subtitles was like being handed a gift. Opera, with supertitles, was another bonus. Bestofall were museumswith headsetsavail able for a modest price. I could perusetheart leisurely, stopping and starting the narration at will, not having to talk — or listen — to anyone around me. Pat Bagley The Salt Lake Tribune tion, my grandchildren would usually say, er mind.” Hurt, I wouldsay, “Nev I can’t help it if you mumble. Now what did you say?” They weren't enamoredofmykindoftelevision — nice. under: standabletalking heads such as MacNeil and | Conversation with other seniors was usually Lehrer(goodforlip-reading) — and s me of the | manageable, since manyof my peers could hear no better than I. Our common impairment led to fun went out of our moviegoing whenthey hadto some interesting situations, however. Example: Ata small dinnerpartyI gave, I seated a gentleman next to a woman with whomhe would feel comfortable, and thoughtfully(or so I thought) put him ‘on her goodear.’’ Later, he complained that I had put her on his BADear! Largeparties or gatherings, with cacophonous background noise, were especially difficult. I smiled alot, faked a lot and became askilled lip reader. I also became quieter (not mynature), fearing embarrassment. I didn’t want to pipe up with, ‘Do you think Powell will run for president?’ just after someonehadsaid, “I think Powell will run for president,’ Without either of us realizing it, my husband became myinterpreter. Sample party banter about travel in New York might go somethinglike this: Mimi: “When were you in New York?” Me: “Yes.” Myhusband: “No, she asked you WHEN you were in NewYork.” Me: “Oh. In 1991." WhenI didn’t catch all the conversation. I extrapolated. I took what I heard andbuilt onit often with skewed results While my peers were empathetic (for the most part), I was, quite frankly, a “pain in the ear” for myfamily. After a couple of tries at conversa- repeat every punchline Myreluctance to seek help sooner stemmed from memories of my mother’s difficulty with hearing aids. (A generation ago. devices were cumbersomeand amplification less than subtle.) Self-sufficient in her eighth decade, shelived on a farmin splendid isolation until we children convinced her hearing aids would enhance her world. Not so. Instead, they brought to herears for thefirst timethe noise oftraffic on the intru sive freeway that hadslicedoff the bottomof the pasture some years before. She seldom wore them Today, there are several types of aids from which to choose: over the ear, in the ear and in the ear canal. I chosethe latter (and admit that vanity played a part in my decision). Due to the magic of miniaturization. a device less than an inch long contains the circuitry programmedfor myspecific need Now hear thechurning ofthe dishwasher, the grinding of the garbage truck a block away and the persistent yapping of a neighbor's dog (Howlong has hebeen doing that?”’) But I also hear the digital alarm, the birds. the crickets Rumpoleof the Bailey” and the soft voices of family and friends Pat Capson Brownis a former Salt Lake Trib une writer who nowresides in California @ See TAXWOMAN, Page J-2 IN ANOTHER TIME aa A CHAMPION FOR WOMEN Despite Heartache, / Bias persists against ~ honored with a ceremony in the Tabernacle, acclaimed for being as “unyielding as the granite of her native New England in Loss, Emmeline Wells Devoted Life to Women her devotion to that which she considered duty.”’ Wells devoted more than nine dec ades to the advancement of womeninspite of a lifetime of tragic loss and heartache arielxromerspureoxtrinetly The exceptional life of Emmeline Wells the seventh of nine children of David and in Utah history in its struggle for statehood, Jan. 4, 1896. Diadama Woodward, began in Petersham Mass., on leap-year dayin 1828. When she was 6, her father waskilled in an accident A precocious child who started school at By Jane Edwards SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE Brokenhearted and humiliated, Emmeline B. Wells neared the landing, suffered astroke andfell to the bottomof the stairs. For three weeks shelay nearly comatose to New Salem Academy, private school before dying on April from which she graduated with a teaching age 3, Emmeline wrote poetryin herchild hood, inspired by the natural beauty sur. rounding her wooded New England home Her abilities were rewarded by acceptance 25, 1921, at age 93. The humiliation followed herrelease as general president of the Relief Society of certificate at age 14, the same year she Utah Historical Quarterly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heber J. Grant, president of the LDS Church anda longtime friend, had visited Wells in 1918 to convince her of the wisdom ofretirement from leadership. Wells protested, saying dismissal would be fatal to her. After all, she had survived a fall down an elevator shaft and acolli sion with a streetcar during her tenure as president. Certainly a temporary illness wouldn't hamper her Close relationships with her five daughters challenged and comforted Emmeline Wells. Grant relented, only to return three yearslater after Wells hadsuffereda seriousillness and had movedinto her daughter's home. This timehestood firm. Andit broke Wells’ heart The funeral was a uniquetribute. Emmeline Wells was the second woman to be POOR Copy... joined the LDS Church. Her mother was eager for Wells to remain faithful to her new religion and arranged for her to marry a young Mormon man In 1843, Emmeline and James Harvey Harris — both just 15 years old — married and moved to Nauvoo, Ill, parents with James At 16, Wells gave birth to a son, who died five weeks later. It was a loss she nev- @ See WELLS, PageJ-2 © women lawyers An AmericanBar Association study says discrimination against women “continues to permeate the structures, practices and attitudes of the legal profession. More womenlawyers... Women as percent of lawyers in the U.S 1960 ff 3% 1995 Samm 23%" ..-but few make partner Surveyof eight large NewYork City law firms, percent offirst-year associates promoted, 1981- Men SE 47, Women fi] 5% .. have powerin law school Percent of women in selected jobs, 1994 Dean (i 8% Professor aaa 17°% Instructor yea ...Or have equal pay Annual income survey of Colorado lawyers, by years of experience, 1993 Women Men 1-3 yrs. $30,806 10-20 yrs. Over 20 yrs. $37,500 $68,466 $90,574 $102,500 $104,103 |
