In 1972, Glorie led the charge when Exxon was forced to hire women on their oil tankers. She started out as a janitor -- four months at sea, then two months off. Her boyfriend wasn’t happy about this arrangement and they broke up on her first shore leave.

Glorie liked the money. She liked her pith helmet with a solar powered fan in the crown. She liked how exotic her life sounded to people she met at parties during her two months off. But Glorie didn’t like being at the bottom of the food chain on board ship. Exxon hired women only to push mops or cook. Glorie decided to become a radio officer. The higher-ups at Exxon did not want a female officer on board. Normal six months training time dragged out to two and half years. Fighting tooth and nail, she finally got her training time documented and approved, and became Exxon’s first female radio officer. Glorie was sure it was no accident when Exxon put her alone, without any other women on board, for four months at sea with every geek, weirdo, sociopath and pervert in the fleet.

Glorie stuck it out for twelve years, then took her pith helmet and walked away from the glamour and the big bucks. She finally admitted to herself that going to sea on a big ship is like being in jail, with a chance of drowning.