Women sometimes get a bad rap.

From the beginning of time, we have been looked at as the one who altered the fate of mankind after offering Adam an apple.

Heaven forbid that man should take any responsibility for his actions.

And ladies, how many times have we endured jokes about our driving skills or been berated for having to pull over and ask for directions.

Just because we choose to come at life from a different perspective does not mean we are not as competent.

This week proves that the “gentler gender” is just as much a force to reckon with as our counter parts.

On Tuesday, during a Southwest Airlines flight an engine exploded midair shattering a window and partially sucking out a passenger.

Unfortunately, the wife and mother of two was killed, but the other passengers made it to safety thanks to the female pilot Tammie Jo Shults.

Shults, a former Navy pilot, managed to handle the harrying situation and make a successful emergency landing.

One of the first female fighter pilots, Shults also was the first woman to fly an F/A-18 Hornet for the Navy.

And in addition to her flying skills, she has been described as a “solid woman of faith” by Kevin Garber, who is the director of alumni relations at Shults’ alma mater, MidAmerica Nazarene University, according to nbcnews.com.

Also on Tuesday, former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away. She too, like Shults, served as a role model and inspired many with her fortitude and tenacity.

Called the “enforcer,” Bush is the matriarch of a family of great people that have dedicated themselves to public service.

While her husband was in office, Bush made literacy her agenda, but in 1989, she also made a powerful statement to the world when she cradled an infant infected with AIDS.

According to The Washington Post, she kissed a toddler and hugged an adult AIDS victim, all to show that touching someone infected did not translate into the transmission of AIDS.

“There is a need for compassion,” she had said.

These two women have worked to make a difference in the life of others.

There have been many others, and some I know live right here in Vicksburg.

So, I may be a little directionally challenged and have had to ask for landmarks instead of street names now and again.

That’s OK because today I am proud to say I am made of sugar and spice and everything nice.

Thank you Tammie Jo Shults, and rest in peace Mrs. Bush.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.