Wave upon Wave

Mobile Minny

Minny could not believe her good fortune.  The fact that it arose from great tragedy mattered little in her mind.  Tragedy was a steady thread in the weave that was her life.  In her 80+ years, she had survived wars, sickness, loved ones dying and betrayals of all kinds.  As she was fond of saying she was, “born at night, but not last night.”

Minny lived alone in a modest two bedroom bungalow in Saginaw Oregon.  She raised three children in that home on Main Street.  She liked the wrap around covered porch the most these days.  She watched the comings and goings of her neighbors and friends, drawing pictures of faraway places she had not seen (except in her mind).  Writing and drawing saved her sanity when her husband and two grandchildren died in a car accident 20 years prior.  Out of those depths of despair and loss, she found release in color and pens.

Lately she noticed a renewed interest in her quiet life by her daughter and son who had been too busy for many years to make the long trek to Saginaw to see her.  They brought official looking people the last time.  They asked many nosy questions about her medications and whether she ever forgot to turn off her stove.  She knew what they were really after having seen many of her friends moved to “rest homes.”  These homes were really a death race, it seemed to her, and she wasn’t ready to die.  Besides, Minny knew that she was different, but she called it eccentria, not dementia.  As the years passed, she was less and less inclined to act simply to please others.

Yesterday afternoon, as she was sitting on the porch, she watched as the ambulance raced up to the door of her neighbor, Edith.  They carried poor Edith out on a stretcher with her face covered, and left in no hurry, no lights or sirens.  It was sad that her friend died.  Minny knew that Edith had bought a ticket for a cruise, the trip of a lifetime.  Minny waited for the cover of night and snuck over to find the ticket.  She found the ticket and also took a suitcase of nice clothing (Edith had a lot more money than Minny).  She figured Edith wouldn’t mind, since she was dead anyway.  Minny planned to step out of her life and on to that boat.  She had arrived at a “jumping off place.”  There was nothing left for her to lose.